Oakland - Tucson, Arizona: Non-stop service begins November 4

Southwest Airlines will introduce a single daily non-stop flight from Oakland to Tucson beginning November 4th. Currently the only other airline offering non-stop service from the Bay Area is United Airlines from SFO, also with once daily service.

Multiple bomb threats forced the closure of the Oakland Airport for about an hour Monday afternoon; 2 threats toward a specific Southwest Airlines flight, and another at the airport itself. Authorities closed all roads leading into the airport complex -- the West Coast hub for Southwest -- and passengers were hustled out into the parking lot. The closure lasted for about an hour until authorities gave the all clear.

HOT! Oakland-Orange County $30 each way (not a typo) DING! Fare from Southwest Airlines
Fare is valid for travel Monday-Thursday and Saturday, October 1 through November 15, 2007 only. You must have DING! from Southwest Airlines installed on your computer as these rates are not available at the Southwest website.

American Airlines: Fly 2 trips, 3rd one is free

American has joined other airlines the past couple weeks by offering some pretty decent promotions this fall. On Wednesday American airlines announced if you fly 2 non-stop round-trips in certain markets, you get a 3rd one free.

Qualifying markets include:

San Francisco - Dallas, Chicago

Oakland - Dallas

San Jose - Dallas, Chicago, Austin

You must book your trip between September 13, 2007 and November 15, 2007.Travel between September 13, 2007 and November 15, 2007.

To participate in this offer, simply register before you travel. Register online at www.aa.com/offers using promotion code AA25X. Read all T&C

Southwest, JetBlue and United are other airlines that have recently offered similar promotions, or bonus miles for flying routes in/out of the San Francisco Bay Area.

Bay Area to Ketchikan, Alaska - $185 round-trip + tax

FareCompare is reporting a great fare to an interesting little city in Alaska. Fly Alaska Airlines from SFO/OAK to Ketchikan "the gateway to Alaska" for about $230 with taxes. This route often runs over $400. The low fare is valid Tue, Wed and Saturdays during September and October - great months to visit Alaska in general.

Fare is available for purchase as of 11:55am

Visit http://www.farecompare.com/ or http://www.alaskaair.com/ for available dates. This cheap fare won't be around long...

Want info on Ketchikan? Click Here

According to the San Jose Mercury News, a bomb threat phoned in Friday afternoon toward a Southwest Airlines flight departing Oakland, caused the already airborne plane to turn around and deplane. All 123 passengers were reportably resent through security and interviewed by the FBI.

Alaska Airlines discontinues the non-stop San Francisco to San Diego flight this weekend.
The airline, which has been operating this route only since October 2006 will discontinue service effective September 9th. Southwest Airlines can largely be to blame for Alaska Airlines pulling out of this market. Southwest currently operates 2o daily non-stop flights from Oakland to San Diego, and began flying 8 additional daily flights from San Francisco to San Diego (haven't even included San Jose and Sacramento)- with cut-throat fares as low as $39 bucks each way. Probably best for Alaska to move on to greener $ pastures...

Labor Day Weekend - Bay Bridge will be closed. From 8pm Friday through 5am Tuesday morning, massive improvements to the Bay Bridge, including replacing a 350 foot section near Yerba Buena Island.

For those traveling to the local airports, BART will be operating 24 hour a day service through the weekend stopping at most stations on its routes. More info at 511.org

Southwest Airlines Promo: Fly 3 - Fly Free

FIRE, FIRE! The California travel market is on FIRE - with HOT airline deals continuing.
Southwest, JetBlue and Virgin America operating all brand new routes out of the Bay Area are fighting each other (and the larger airlines such as United & American) for market share. For example, once Southwest Airlines starts SFO-LAX service in November, there will be over 100 daily flights operating this route between all the airlines. This equates to sizzling hot deals for folks like us.

And here's the latest example (see previous posts for other deals)

Southwest Airlines is offering a free trip within the 48 states after you fly just 3 round trips within California August 27-December 31st and/or SFO-Las Vegas between November 4th and December 31st. This applies to newly booked tickets only.

Full details here!

Intra-California Sale continues

After yesterday's $34 each way sale from Oakland to Ontario and Los Angeles on Southwest - the other main carriers serving the Golden State responded with their own deals:

United is now offering $78+Tax ($99 all in) roundtrip Oakland to Los Angeles
American is offering $78+Tax ($99 all in) roundtrip San Francisco to Los Angeles
JetBlue is offering $78+Tax ($97 all in) roundtrip Oakland to Long Beach.

Southwest has said it plans to fly from San Francisco to Los Angeles starting in November...
this ought to ensure healthy competition continues for Bay Area flyers.

DING! Fares today from Southwest Airlines are HOT!

Oakland to Los Angeles $36/each way + tax (That's $92 bucks roundtrip, taxes included!)
Oakland to Ontario $36-$39/each way + tax
Monday-Saturday travel September 1 - October 31 only

Sacramento-Philadelphia $70/each way + tax

Tue/Thu/Friday travel September 4-28 only

You must have the DING! fare program downloaded on your computer to qualify for these fares.
DING! is available at Southwest.com

Reminder: The Bay Bridge will be closed for Labor Day Weekend... details and alternate ways of getting across the Bay at 511.org

Southwest Airlines Intra-California Sale

Though not the best fares Southwest sometimes offers, these aren't so bad either.
Book by August 23 for travel August 28 through January 11, 2008. Fares are each way.
14 Day advance purchase on these tickets, valid most days (including peak travel days Friday & Sunday!)

Oakland, CA $49 to/from
Burbank, CA
Los Angeles, CA
Ontario, CA
San Diego, CA

Sacramento, CA $49 to/from
Burbank, CA
Los Angeles, CA
Ontario, CA
San Diego, CA

San Jose, CA $49 to/from
Burbank, CA
Los Angeles, CA
Ontario, CA
San Diego, CA

San Francisco, CA$49 to/from
San Diego, CA(Service beginsAugust 26, 2007.)

Southwest Airlines initiates nonstop Oakland to Tucson service beginning November 4th.
The flight departs Oakland at 610pm and arrives Tucson at 925pm.
Several other departure times are available, but require a connection in Las Vegas, Los Angeles or San Diego.

Oakland/San Jose to Miami/Ft Lauderdale/West Palm Beach - $202/rt including taxes. Valid travel September 5-November 14th. American Airlines

San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose - Coastal Mexico (Puerto Vallarta, Cabo, Ixtapa/Zihuantanejo/Cancun) $300 taxes included
Valid on Delta Airlines & Mexicana depending on airports you fly to/from
Through December 18th. Farecompare

Megabus pulls into the Bay Area this week

MegaBus is expanding their coach service to the San Francisco Bay Area. Beginning Wednesday, Bay Area buses begin rolling non-stop from the Bay Area to Los Angeles city center with travel time less than 7 hours.

So where is the flight tie-in since this is a travel blog?

OK There is no direct connection! But, with the first 4 seats on each coach costing a mere $1 each (there are 56 seats total on each bus), a fairly quick ride south dropping you off near downtown L.A and 3 X daily service - including a "red eye" bus ride (leave 1130pm arrive L.A 6am), it's certainly worth considering over a flight to LAX.

What about Greyhound? (oh yea...Greyhound)

They're still around, and with a well established infrastructure of schedules and routes, it would seem Megabus is driving against some stiff competition. Megabus asserts however that their low price, tiered pricing structure (tickets never cost more than $36 each way) and non-stop service make them a superior product.

What I see absent from their press release is how coach service will meet a need for travelers. In the U.S at least, shady stories are ever present as it relates to Greyhound, not the least bit because of where the bus stations are located. A marketing campaign to drive people onto the buses because of a superior product such as service, onboard movies/entertainment or buy-on-board food is needed. The company should also remove itself from the present image of a dark, seedy Greyhound Bus Station by emphasizing where bus drop off points are located (ie: Cal-Train Station in the exciting SOMA, or near Dodger Stadium in L.A).

Still, Megabus is an option people have as an alternative to air travel, at least to Los Angeles for now. While I doubt business travelers are lining up to purchase, small groups of friends may find some fun riding the bus down to L.A for the weekend. Megabus

Source: Megabus Press Release

Alaska Airlines HOT Summer & Fall Award Redemptions

Hot! Alaska Airlines has expanded their already generous award redemption opportunities.
Travel roundtrip to select California destinations in August by redeeming 15,000 Alaska Miles.
For example: San Francisco/Santa Rosa or Oakland to Southern California.

Hotter! Travel roundtrip to select Mexico destinations in September and October by redeeming 20,000 Alaska Miles.
For example: San Francisco to Puerto Vallarta/Mexico City/Los Cabos/La Paz

Monterey - Miami, FL $143 + tax roundtrip on United Airlines
Valid for travel through May 08, Saturday night stay required.
Fare Basis: LE14NNX

Some other decent deals available from Oakland/San Francisco/San Jose to Ft.Lauderdale/West Palm Beach starting at about $25 more with varying restrictions. Travelocity

Airfare War Continues: Bargains for Bay Area travelers

Round 2 of the fare war comes 24 hours after United Airlines temporarily dropped fares in markets the new airline Virgin America will be flying starting August 8th.

Late Friday evening JetBlue and Southwest matched or beat Virgin America's introductory fare offerings for routes from the Bay Area (OAK/SFO) to Los Angeles and New York. For example: Southwest is offering $99 each way OAK-NY LaGuardia. Fares are available for non-peak travel days, usually Tue/Wed/Sat for travel beginning on or after August 8th.