--- In BATN@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, "10/22 SF Business Times" <batn@xxxx> wrote: Published Friday, October 22, 2004, in San Francisco Business Times Low-cost carriers lift SFO to new altitude By Eric Young Gaining some ground on its Bay Area competitors, San Francisco International Airport has attracted several new low-cost airlines and seen others increase service to SFO in recent months. One new low-cost carrier, Westjet, began service this month between San Francisco and Canada. It joins two other low-cost airlines, Ted and Airtran Airways, that began serving SFO within the past 12 months. Virgin America, a startup that plans to base its operations in the Bay Area, could help boost SFO's low-cost airlines figures even higher if it sticks to its plan of beginning service next year. "We're looking at that sector because our customers are looking for value," said Mike McCarron, a spokesman for SFO. SFO said 15 percent of its passengers are using low-cost carriers, up from 9 percent a year ago. The development is important for SFO as it competes with Oakland International Airport and Mineta San Jose International Airport for passengers. SFO remains the region's dominant airport for international travelers and long-haul flights across the country. But those routes are dominated by so-called legacy carriers -- airlines such as United Airlines, American Airlines and Delta Airlines -- which have been battered by a slowdown in the economy and which are not growing like their low-cost competitors. SFO this past summer saw its first increase in passenger traffic since 2001 -- due in part to the increase in low-cost airline options at the airport. More than 32.3 million passengers went through SFO in the 12 months ended in August, according to the latest figures available. SFO does not plan to replace Oakland or San Jose as the region's low-cost hubs -- both those airports have more than half their passengers using low-cost carriers. Nevertheless, low-cost carriers represent an important growth area. Since 2000 low cost airlines such as Southwest and Jetblue have expanded service 28 percent across the country while legacy airlines have cut back by 16 percent, according to Kurt Forsgren, a director at Standard & Poor's. But there is only so much SFO can do to make it attractive to low- cost airlines. The airport continues to be plagued by periods of foggy weather -- on average every third day.That prompted Southwest Airlines to pull its service out of SFO in 2001 and operate the bulk of its Bay Area service out of Oakland. Now Southwest carries more than 55 percent of the passengers moving through Oakland's airport. Eric Young covers transportation for the San Francisco Business Times. --- End forwarded message ---