=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/2003/08= /01/BU114841.DTL ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Friday, August 1, 2003 (SF Chronicle) Oakland's growing pains/Discount carriers bring crowds to East Bay's airport David Armstrong, Chronicle Staff Writer Oakland International Airport was a bucolic little airport in the mid- 1980s. You could park right outside the terminal and stroll inside, encounter virtually no lines and be airborne in no time. No more. The airport has grown rapidly in recent years, lifted by its alliance with low-fare carriers, the only names in the aviation industry that continue to grow in the era of heightened security alerts and a slumping economy. The question now is, will success spoil Oakland International as it faces increasing congestion indoors and out with, some passengers say, a decrease in comfort. "I used to really like this airport, it was actually relaxing," said Bert Steffens, waiting for AirBART, the shuttle bus that connects the Coliseum BART station to Oakland International. "I still come here because I go to L.A. a lot, and Southwest goes there and is cheap. But it's getting to be a headache." Oakland airport officials acknowledge that with success has come new problems. But they say they're determined to upgrade the customer experience at the airport, which has grown along with Southwest Airlines, the low-cost airline that carries 55 percent of Oakland's fliers. "We truly do have unacceptable lines," said Steven Grossman, the airport= 's director of aviation, referring to crowding in parking spaces, at curbside and inside the terminals. "It's a major, major challenge, but we are taking steps to deal with that." Oakland, which handled 11.6 million passengers in fiscal year 2001-02, s= aw 13.4 million passengers in fiscal year 2002-03, which ended June 30, according to Grossman. The 16.3 percent increase exacerbated existing problems, though it marked Oakland -- still a distant second behind San Francisco International Airport, with its 31 million passengers -- as the only Bay Area airport that gained passengers in the past year. In recent months, Oakland created a third curb for airport shuttle buses, opened a new entrance from 98th Avenue to ease traffic, and will soon increase security lines to nine from seven in Terminal One, Grossman said. The first phase of the airport's $1.4 billion expansion plan, which calls for a new parking garage with 4,000 public parking spaces and 2,000 rental car spaces, has been approved, he said. The airport also plans to open 600 new parking spaces in the former United Airlines maintenance facility, which closed June 30, when bankrupt United moved most maintenance jobs across the bay to SFO. The long-term plan is to convert the facility into a new terminal and is expected to cost from $300 million to $500 million and be completed by 2010, he said. The airport, anticipating that United would file for Chapter 11 bankrupt= cy protection, voided United's lease agreements 30 days before the carrier declared bankruptcy in December, Grossman said. "That way, we retained control of the facilities, and not a bankruptcy court." Grossman said Oakland also plans to build an extension to Terminal Two, which houses Southwest, a popular, money-making airline that pulled out of SFO just over two years ago and increased its daily departures at Oakland to 122. The extension should be finished by 2006. "We need to look at increased terminal capacity," agreed George Turner, Oakland International's marketing director, at an airport luncheon and briefing Thursday. "Quite frankly, we're running out of room to grow comfortably." The airport needs the extra space to offer expansion opportunities to existing tenants and attract other airlines. SFO and San Jose are trying to gain market share in the low-cost carrier market. SFO, for instance, has courted ATA Airlines, which announced Monday introductory low fares from San Francisco to Newark, N.J. Oakland airport has also seen its annual security costs soar from $4.4 million before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks to $11.9 million this year, Grossman said. Oakland airport's finances are considered sound, said Fitch Ratings' managing director of airport ratings, Dan Champeau. Fitch, a New York credit rating agency, has given Oakland airport an AA- rating, with a stable outlook, he said. Mineta San Jose International Airport has a good A+ rating, while SFO has an A rating and has dropped twice in the past year due chiefly to SFO's debt load, Champeau said. Oakland airport benefits from being coupled with the Port of Oakland's busy ocean cargo seaport, which helps back its revenue bonds and gives the airport a diverse revenue stream, Champeau said. Theoretically, Oakland airport's reliance on one airline could be a problem, Champeau said. "Having one dominant carrier is potentially a credit risk. But if you have to ally with just one, Southwest -- the highest-valued U.S. airline -- is the one you'd want to align yourself with." Oakland has attracted several other carriers in recent years. JetBlue, t= he sleek, low-fare airline from New York, entered Oakland in 2001 and now has 15 daily departures, many of them non-stop, cross-country flights -- once rare in Oakland, which has specialized in short-hop regional trips. On Thursday, Delta Air Lines said it will start two new daily nonstops between Oakland and Atlanta, effective Oct. 1. San Francisco continues to dominate the long-haul market, especially international travel, with more than 90 percent of Bay Area international flights. SFO also made access easier by opening a BART line to SFO in late June. Travelers taking mass transit to Oakland airport must buy a $2 ticket to ride AirBART buses or $1.50 to take AC Transit lines. Wait times and bus rides together can add up to 30 minutes. E-mail David Armstrong at davidarmstrong@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Oakland Airpor= t thrives on Low-fare carriers Low-cost carriers are the only segment of the airline industry=20 still growing in the 3-year-long downturn. LCCs are also driving=20 growth at Oakland International Airport, which has the most daily=20 departing flights of the three major Bay Area airports. =20 Oakland: 146 Southwest: 122=20 JetBlue: 14=20 American West: 7=20 SunTrips(x): 3 . San Jose: 83 Southwest: 71=20 America West: 7=20 Frontier: 3=20 ATA: 2=20 . San Francisco: 31 America West: 13=20 ATA: 10=20 Frontier: 4=20 Midwest Express: 4=20 . (x) SunTrips is a low-fares charter airline Sources: the airports and the airlines=20=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2003 SF Chronicle