=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/chronicle/archive/2002/05= /29/BU238063.DTL ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Wednesday, May 29, 2002 (SF Chronicle) JetBlue flights to link Oakland, Long Beach David Armstrong, Chronicle Staff Writer JetBlue, the low-fare New York airline, plans to jump into the competiti= ve California corridor, launching nine daily flights between Oakland International Airport and Long Beach Airport on Sept. 6, the company said Tuesday. Tickets for the flights, priced at $54 to $95 one way, go on sale today; security fees and airport departure fees will add about $10 each way to the tickets, which must be purchased by June 30 and carry a 14-day advance- purchase requirement. The new service will ramp up competition between 2-year-old JetBlue and the much larger United and Southwest airlines, which dominate the busy air corridor between the Bay Area and Southern California. United flies to the Southern California from San Francisco International Airport, Mineta San Jose International Airport and Oakland. Southwest flies to Southern California from Oakland and San Jose. Typically, rival airlines will match introductory low fares when a rival introduces service. JetBlue's growth strategy is keyed to midsize regional airports, which t= he airline promotes as alternatives to congested mega-airports like SFO and Los Angeles International Airport, said JetBlue Chief Executive Officer David Neeleman. "Oakland's advantage is convenience. It has fewer air-traffic control problems than SFO, where the runways are close together, and every time the wind blows or it rains a little bit, there are delays," Neeleman said. United operates 16 daily departures from SFO to LAX, and four daily flights from Oakland to LAX. United flew 30 daily departures from SFO to LAX in early 2001 on the United Shuttle, but discontinued the Shuttle as a distinct brand in October after business fell off. "Since Sept. 11 and the recession, we have cut back," United spokesman J= oe Hopkins said. Low-fare carrier Southwest, which did not reduce its operations after Sept. 11, operates 59 daily departures from Oakland to four Southern California airports, Southwest spokeswoman Carrie Breinholt said. Southwest also has 39 daily departures from Mineta San Jose International Airport to the Southland. "We always welcome competition, because it is good for the consumer," Breinholt said of the JetBlue announcement. She added that Southwest, which does not serve Long Beach, has no plans to add new destinations this year. JetBlue, launched in February 2000, offers all-economy class service with leather seats and 24-channel satellite TV service shown on seat-back screens and does not require Saturday stays. In October, JetBlue plans to launch six flights a day from Long Beach to Las Vegas, a daily flight to Salt Lake City and a fifth daily flight to John F. Kennedy Airport in New York City. E-mail David Armstrong at davidarmstrong@sfchronicle.com.=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2002 SF Chronicle