Airport of Choice?

I spend a lot of time flying, and one of the things that I love about travel in this area is that there are SO many airports and SO many flights. However, each airport has its benefits and drawbacks...

SFO - Consistent flights at all hours from just about every airline. Delta, United, and American (the three biggies) all have heavy traffic here. The food is great, especially in the United terminal. However, traffic can be backed up, the airport is a bit difficult to navigate, and the staff can be rude. Furthermore, it seems as if security is always a bottleneck, no matter what time of day or night, and this is the only airport of the big three where I have experienced delays.

San Jose - I wish that they had more flights and serviced more cities, because this is by far the most efficient airport I have ever seen and the closest to my house (which, granted, is only a criteria for me but it is still important!) They see lots of flights in a short of time, they board from both sides of the plane (what a novel idea!), their staff are friendly and although the food selection is pretty lame, I have never been in there long enough to care - and they do have a good burrito place.

Oakland - Bigger than San Jose but still very efficient, I have only been there once so my take is not quite as accurate. It's a bit further off the highway than SJC and a LOT further than SFO, but long-term parking on-site is dirt cheap. I've made it curbside to my gate in nine minutes, and the crew there is sharp and friendly. It is about the same distance from my house as SFO but a bit more difficult to find than the others. The one time I went was on a Sunday morning (primo travel time), but it was still very very dead.

Sacramento, Santa Rosa, and Monterey all have airports as well, but those are a little far from me. Hopefully this helps if you are making travel plans anytime soon!
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I like Oakland because I can avoid going through the city. I love SF as a destination but hate it as place to drive through. The traffic is always horrendous.

From the East Bay the Oakland Airport is much easier (though, of course, if I were in Palo Alto as you are, I would not want to drive all the way up). I especially like the Oakland -Burbank flight for getting to So-Cal--much less of a hassle than SFO to LAX, which is just a mess.

In terms of the actual airports, SFO is really nice inside (LAX has a nice overpriced restuarant or two as well). Oakland and Sac are much more basic--but since you're generally not spending lots of time waiting for flights at either one, this is not a big deal.

Sac has the additional problem of being several miles north of the city, so you have to drive a half hour just to get there.

On a side note, the best airport eating I ever had was at the Miami Airport. Great empanadas. They also have a nice hotel right at the airport. I spent a week there once and really rather enjoyed it despite being by myself.

But, of course, few places beat Miami for vacation weather I think.
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StephSF 2yrs+
I went to the Miami airport once, when I was a kid, but I can't remember what they had for food (I think I was 12 and we were trying to jam out of there as quickly as possible). LAX does have a decent food selection, but my favorites are SFO and the JFK international terminal (complete with a Palm restaurant!)

If I lived in the East Bay, I would definitely fly out of Oakland - even from my house, it only take 25-30 minutes to get there, and the time I save in the security line more than compensates for it. The only problem is the infrequency of departing flights to anywhere east of here.

Sac is not even worth it for me any more being out here - it was actually decently manageable, but took forever to get to from anywhere. I would say not worth flying into if you are traveling to the Bay Area, but worth it if you are flying into Tahoe.
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FlowerGirl 2yrs+
I really need to get a passport and go somewhere.
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Tracypie 2yrs+
SFO all the way, but they don't go to all places. For example Portland, OR - you can only get there from Oakland. I like Oakland too. San Jose airport is fine if you live in the South Bay.It also doesn't have the fog issues that SFO has. By SAC do you mean Sacramento?? I don't even consider Sacramento the Bay Area because it's like 2 hours from the city and 3 hrs from the South Bay. I agree with @StephSF that SAC is only worth it if going to Tahoe. But again, I don't really consider Tahoe the Bay Area either.
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StephSF 2yrs+
Yeah, Sacramento is good if you live in the East Bay, but that is about it. I sat on the SFO runway for about 30 minutes yesterday morning, which apparently gets budgeted in to all of the flight times, given the amount of traffic that they have. This is a normal phenomenon for all large airports (I've spent as much as 45 minutes on the runway before taking off at JFK, which is completely standard there and not considered a delay at all), but this is not something I've experienced at San Jose OR Oakland. I just wish they had more flights.
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StephSF 2yrs+
SFO just started offering free wifi - but it's only good for 45 minutes (supposedly!) I find that somewhat annoying, although at least they give you something. I think most Jetblue terminals offer free wifi regardless.

They've actually done a good job the past two times of getting flights out on time, and not making you taxi for hours if you land early. It may be a fluke, but right now I'm happy with them...I'll be passing through there three more times in the next week, so let's see if the trend continues...
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Tracypie 2yrs+
I just flew through Oakland last weekend and I have to say, if there is no traffic on the Bay Bridge, it's quite nice. Made it there in under 35 minutes from North Beach to the gate.

@StephSF - sometimes I walk down to airlines where I know they offer free wifi and plug in there. It's always a little more crowded, but it's ridiculous that you get limited time for wifi. LAME!
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StephSF 2yrs+
WOW - did you drive there or take public transportation? I've done exactly that before (the swiping free Wifi thing), but sometimes those gates are located in other terminals, as is the case with SFO.
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StephSF 2yrs+
I had another flight into San Jose tonight - twelve minutes landing to curbside. Yet another reason why this is my favorite airport.

As a side note, I was stranded on the tarmac for 45 minutes at National (D.C.), another 20 minutes on the runway in Denver (which is a very nice airport but too big to be well-managed), and had a flight completely cancel in Philadelphia. Once they managed to put me on the next flight, I was delayed again for another half hour.

All this to say that even though SFO is the toughest of the three airports to get out of, I've NEVER that much of a problem there.
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Tracypie 2yrs+
@StephSF - that stinks. SFO is the toughest due to the fog. But it sounds like your airline was more of a problem than your airport in this case. Bummer :(
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StephSF 2yrs+
Yep, U.S. Air is my least favorite, no matter which airport I fly out of. They seem to be the most prone to delays.

Oddly enough, my SFO problems have all been due to traffic on the runway, not fog. I guess certain times of day are peak hours, just like driving traffic. Either way, it is rather annoying.
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