=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This article was sent to you by someone who found it on SF Gate. The original article can be found on SFGate.com here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=3D/c/a/2001/12/21/MN5083.DTL ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Friday, December 21, 2001 (SF Chronicle) It's a sardine scene at Bay Area airports/Reduced schedules add to congesti= on, passenger hassles Marshall Wilson, Chronicle Staff Writer No, it's not going to get any easier. Travelers can expect long lines and crowded airplanes over the holidays = as the Bay Area's airports brace for what promise to be the busiest days since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Fewer people are expected to travel this year than last. But the airlines have done more than keep pace with the decline: They have cut even more flights. That guarantees longer lines in the terminal as stressed passengers are searched for contraband and cramped aisles in the plane as travelers try to stuff gifts in overhead bins. So don't expect to discover what can make a long flight seem shorter: so= me elbow room. "If there's a plane leaving out of San Francisco, it's going to be pretty full," said Tom Parsons, chief executive of bestfares.com, an Internet travel site. Parsons said deep discounts that have pushed some coast-to-coast round-trip fares out of San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose to as low as $200 are quickly drawing leisure travelers back. But airlines, Parsons said, are not rushing to put planes mothballed after the Sept. 11 attacks back into service. 'AGGRAVATION ALL CHRISTMAS LONG' "There's still going to be aggravation all Christmas long," and one snowstorm in the Midwest could cause havoc because of the heavy bookings on fewer flights, Parsons said. As the travel season began this week at San Francisco International Airport, National Guard troops in camouflage toted rifles amid long security line= s. The holiday spirit has yet to arrive. Matthew Horton, a 29-year-old who began his day in Sydney, said he notic= ed that travelers' trepidation after the four airplanes' hijackings has waned little. "People in line still look at each other and look a little nervous," said Horton, who was in a United Airlines security line for an East Coast flight. Lines at San Francisco International were growing longer by the minute at several check-in counters and security gates. Signs of turbulence were showing as some passengers grew frustrated that the airlines weren't making flying any easier. 'I'LL BE LUCKY TO MAKE MY FLIGHT' "They've got to get more personnel. I'm here 2 1/2 hours early and I'll = be lucky to make my flight," said a frustrated J.D. Rideout, a retired TWA pilot waiting to check in with Delta Airlines. Officials at San Francisco International predict that more than 100,000 passengers will cross the airport's threshold today, the busiest travel day of the pre-Christmas rush. That's about 10 percent fewer than peak days last year, airport spokesman Ron Wilson said. In the South Bay, officials at San Jose's Mineta International expect passenger totals to fall 10 to 20 percent below last year's holiday period. Bucking a nationwide trend, officials at Oakland International Airport predict the same number of passengers during the two weeks starting today as last year. Overall, the number of passengers flying over the holidays is expected to be down about 16 percent from last year, according to the Air Transport Association, a trade group representing the nation's largest airlines. Still, that's an improvement over November, when passenger traffic was down about 20 percent nationwide. PARKING FEES REDUCED "There are overbooked flights and the airplanes are going out full," San Francisco International's Wilson said. There is some good news for travelers. Starting today, parking in SFO's long-term lot will be $12 per day, down from $15. The airport expects to have ample parking during the holidays. Two hours of free parking are available in the garages next to the international terminal with the purchase of $20 worth of food or merchandise and a validation from participating airport merchants. Oakland also expects to have parking available during the holidays. San Jose airport officials advise calling ahead for parking information. Overall, about 53.7 million Americans are expected to travel during December, according to the American Automobile Association of Northern California. Whether it's the recession or skittishness from the war in Afghanistan and the aftermath of the terrorist attacks, the number is down from last year's mark of 57.1 million and the December record of 62.6 million, set in 1998. In California, about 6.5 million people are predicted to travel 50 miles or more from home, down 6 percent from 2000. According to the auto club, the main destination hot spots this month are Hawaii, which major carriers are reporting as sold-out, Mexico, Disneyland, Lake Tahoe, Las Vegas and Caribbean cruises. At U.S. airports across the country, passenger traffic plunged more than 30 percent in September, knocking them from the top of the world rankings of busiest terminals, a global airport association reported yesterday. San Francisco International, in ninth place for the year, was 22nd in September with a 37.7 percent drop to 2.1 million passengers. Chronicle news services contributed to this report. / E-mail Marshall Wilson at marshallwilson@sfchronicle.com.=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2001 SF Chronicle