=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This article was sent to you by someone who found it on SFGate. The original article can be found on SFGate.com here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=3D/c/a/2008/01/10/BUTBUC7CJ.= DTL --------------------------------------------------------------------- Thursday, January 10, 2008 (SF Chronicle) Southwest to change flights at all 3 Bay Area airports George Raine, Chronicle Staff Writer Southwest Airlines said Wednesday that it will add and subtract several daily flights from Oakland, San Francisco and San Jose, to accommodate rising demand in some cases and in an effort to be more efficient in others. The air carrier said it will eliminate two daily flights from Oakland to five destinations - Burbank, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Ontario (San Bernardino County) and San Diego - but will still have a sufficient number of flights on those routes to accommodate passenger demand. At the same time, Southwest said it will begin daily nonstop service between Oakland and Austin, Texas, saying the airline has seen rising demand to the state capital on connecting service on flights from Oakland. "Southwest Airlines is concerned about slowing economic growth, and we want our flight schedule to be built around flights that are in high demand," Gary Kelly, Southwest Airlines chief executive, said in a statement. Southwest also is adding two daily departures from San Francisco to San Diego, for a total of 10. Southwest will begin service between San Jose and Denver, with three departures daily. It will trim one daily departure from San Jose to both Los Angeles and Ontario. After eliminating those flights, there will be 13 flights from San Jose to Los Angeles and eight to Ontario. All the changes are effective May 10. Southwest is the dominant airline at Oakland International Airport, representing 60.6 percent of the airport's flights in 2006, said Rosemary Barnes, the spokeswoman for the airport. She anticipates the number will be unchanged for 2007 when an accounting is complete. After the changes, Southwest will have 135 daily nonstop flights from Oakland. Oakland is and will continue to be Southwest's busiest airport in California in the number of flights and the sixth busiest in its system, said Barnes. After the reductions on May 10, there will be 15 daily flights from Oakland to Burbank, 12 to Las Vegas, 18 to Los Angeles, 10 to Ontario and 16 to San Diego. Airline spokeswoman Marilee McInnis said of the Oakland-Austin route, "T= he demand we see and why we added a nonstop flight is partially tech sector-driven," as there is a sizable high-tech community in Austin, "but it's really just demand between two large metropolitan areas in which we have a very loyal and large customer base." The airline, based in Dallas, started serving Oakland International in M= ay 1989. It operated at San Francisco International Airport from 1982 to 2001, then pulled out before returning last August. It began service at Mineta San Jose International Airport in 1993, and is now the airport's major carrier, with nearly half the number of flights and passengers. E-mail George Raine at graine@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx -------------------------= --------------------------------------------- Copyright 2008 SF Chronicle <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> If you wish to unsubscribe from the AIRLINE List, please send an E-mail to: "listserv@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx". Within the body of the text, only write the following:"SIGNOFF AIRLINE".