Best Airport in the Bay Area
Grudgingly, I'll admit that the best airport to do any traveling from in the Bay Area is the San Jose International Airport. It's small, it's cheap, and the people security are surprisingly kind - almost refreshing. Unless you have a car, though, San Jose Airport is practically inaccessible to the people of Oakland and San Francisco. Even if you did have a car, the traffic would not be worth it.
The next best place to fly out of, then is the Oakland International Airport. For long flights back to my hometown in Minnesota or New York, I usually choose the San Francisco Airport, for no other reason than that I have a ton of luggage and SFO is closer. On a recent trip to Los Angeles, however, I was quick to rediscover my love for OAK. This love for OAK is pretty much dependant on the fact that both Jet Blue and Southwest airlines fly out of OAK - not SFO. No one can beat these airline's prices, which makes dealing with the screaming children, stinky babies, and 45 minute shuttle service from the BART to the airport almost worth it.
This will soon be changing though, and I expect the tables to turn very soon. Southwest Airlines will be opening a terminal at SFO, and therefore giving United and Delta airlines a run for their money. The result? Expect to see plenty of cheap flights from both SFO and OAK for the next 6 months - a year. Once the cheaper, more friendly Southwest Airlines starts its flights into SFO, everyone will want to fly from this airport. The BART takes you directly to the front doors of the airport, instead of having to catch a flight another shuttle bus like in Oakland, and although SFO is gigantic compared to OAK and San Jose's airport, they have a quick and easy airtrain that gets you to where you want to go fairly easily. SFO even has Christmas caroler during the Holiday Season.
The biggest problem, though, is the security lines. I've missed flights because of these lines. Many people have. So until the flights get a lot cheaper and the lines get shorter out of SFO - the best place to book a flight from the Bay Area is the Oakland International Airport.
Also, the airport BART station for OAK is the same as the Oakland Coliseum, so if you're flight arrives in Oakland a few minutes before the first pitch and you're not too weighed down by your luggage like I was last week - you can feel a little more welcomed back to bay with an always entertaining A's game. Sometimes living here is just too perfect.
