--- In BATN@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, "8/4 Peninsula Examiner" <batn@xxxx> wrote: Published Wednesday, August 4, 2004, in the Peninsula Examiner Cheaper flights wanted SFO seeks to boost number of discount flyers. By Ethan Fletcher Staff Writer S.F. AIRPORT -- San Francisco International Airport is looking to attract more low-cost carriers, according to spokesman Mike McCarron. McCarron said SFO is currently in discussion with several LCCs (low-cost carriers) about flying through San Francisco, although he declined to say which airlines or if any deal is imminent. In addition, SFO's Airport Commission voted on Tuesday to approve $100,000 in funding to evaluate the use of SFO's Terminal 2 to accommodate low-cost airlines. "We want to have the flexibility to accommodate airlines in the future," McCarron said. "We want to be able to move fast if an agreement is made." McCarron admitted that the relative absence of low-cost carriers is a hole that SFO would like to fill. Discount carrier flights compose 15 percent of SFO's volume, he said, while the industry standard sits at around 25 percent. By comparison, Oakland International Airport, which boasts such budget carrier giants as Jet Blue and Southwest, is at 74 percent discount flights. But SFO is making improvements, McCarron emphasized. Increased traffic of airlines such as ATA, Frontier and TransWest, has nearly doubled the airport's percentage of discount flyer traffic in the past year alone. Last month's announcement of the startup low-cost airline Virgin USA making its home in San Francisco will increase that figure even more. SFO has a goal of 20 percent discount flights. While both San Francisco and San Jose's airports have struggled since the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Oakland International has shined by contrast. Headlined by Southwest, which accounts for nearly 60 percent of its flights, Oakland has increased passenger traffic for seven straight years, and is on pace to serve its highest passenger load ever this year, according to spokesman George Turner. Turner said that the main reason Oakland has been able to attract LCCs and vault past San Jose to become the number two airport in the Bay Area is its low cost of doing business. Per passenger, airlines pay around $4 at Oakland and around $15 at SFO. But San Francisco has been improving in that area as well, decreasing the cost from more than $20 per passenger two years ago, with a goal of shrinking it to $12 within the next two years, McCarron said. In addition to SFO's ongoing efforts to lower costs, the airport has offered incentives, such as a 50-percent reduced landing fees for the first year, to lure low-cost carriers. --- End forwarded message ---