San Jose Airport Community Open House

The public is invited to tour the brand new Terminal B and concourse, and the completely renovated Terminal A at Mineta San Jose Airport. Once inside, guests will be given "open house boarding passes" entitling them to learn more about the $1.3 billion dollar project, as well as the airlines and vendors serving the airport. The red-ribbon cutting takes place at 8:30 AM Saturday, June 26th, with hourly tours scheduled throughout the day Saturday and Sunday. The tours are free of charge, but you must pre-register and provide initial screening information for TSA security clearance.

Horizon Airlines Picks up San Jose to Los Angeles Route

Parent company Alaska Airlines said in a press release today they will launch new service between San Jose and Los Angeles beginning August 23, 2010. The airline will operate 4 daily flights between the cities, utilizing 74-seat Bombardier Q400 turboprop planes. Initial fares start at $61 each way. The airline is apparently hoping to connect Silicon Valley travelers to International flights offered by the airlines' alliance partners in L.A.

Special offer: Earn double MileagePlan miles for flights between San Jose and Los Angeles through November 23rd.

Tough Choices Ahead for San Jose Airport Officials

Officials at San Jose-Mineta airport warn that painful choices will need to be made in order to prevent "failure," according to airport aviation director Bill Sherry. A significant drop in flights and passengers, combined with a hefty $1.3 billion renovation bill mean that airport will need to consider big changes - and soon. At a special City Council session this week, many suggestions, including lifting the overnight flight curfew, and suspending the current living wage for airport personnel were discussed. Read more from the SJ Mercury News.

San Jose to Sacramento Just $29 Each Way

Just $29 gets you from San Jose to Sacramento on Horizon Airlines. Sure, you could probably get there faster by driving, but then how many frequent flyer miles would you earn by doing that? =)

The fare is valid 7 days a week through 2010, and comes to about $79 roundtrip after all taxes and fees. Click here to book.

United/SkyWest To Drop San Jose - Santa Barbara Route

KEYT is reporting United Express - SkyWest Airlines has decided to end flights between San Jose and Santa Barbara effective June 8, 2010. The airline operates up to five daily flights between the two cities, using 30-seat EMB-120 aircraft. In the report, the airline said flight loads were too low to continue offering service. Customers can continue fly SkyWest into Santa Barbara via SFO and LAX airports.

American Dropping Bay Area Flights Into Orange County

The latest American Airlines scheduler shows all flights from San Jose and San Francisco to Santa Ana/Orange County will be discontinued effective November 18, 2009. Currently six daily departures are offered between these cities, operated by affiliate American Eagle.

American has been trimming away departures from the Bay Area the past several months, and over the summer announced plans to cut the San Jose - Austin "nerd bird" route at the end of this month.

American Airlines To Ground San Jose-Austin Nerd Bird Route

The Austin American-Statesman reports American Airlines will cease flights between San Jose and Austin effective August 25, 2009. Flights between these cities, often dubbed the "nerd bird" route because of the large number of high-tech workers, have been part of the Silicon Valley for over 15 years. American cites the cancellation on the overall recession and a weakening demand on business travel, including on the Nerd Bird. Read the full story here.

San Jose Airport Opens New Ticketing Lobbies

(Press Release)

Spacious new street-level ticketing lobbies opened at Terminal A of Mineta San José International Airport (SJC) Wednesday morning (May 13), expanding the number of ticketing stations by 60 percent.

The new ticketing lobbies are the first newly-constructed customer space to open in the airport's comprehensive $1.3 billion terminal area modernization program, and the first of several major improvements for Terminal A that will come into service over the rest of this year.

Southwest Airlines now occupies the entire South Ticketing Lobby, and the North Lobby is shared by American, Hawaiian, and Mexicana Airlines. Because of SJC's innovative shared-use technology foundation, in the future multiple carriers can easily use the same ticket counters and aircraft gates as new flights are added to serve San José.

Passengers walking across the bridge from the Terminal A garage now will go down the new escalators to check in at the new ticket counters. In addition, Terminal A now has a much longer curb for departing passengers to unload and conveniently check in at street level.

The space vacated by the old upstairs ticket counters now will be cleared out to make way for an expanded and efficient new security checkpoint that will help reduce passenger wait times and improve their travel experience at SJC when it is completed this fall.

"It was quite a challenge to orchestrate the complex series of steps with contractors, airlines, and the airport so that we could make the entire switch overnight," said Steve Pagan, SJC project manager for the Terminal A improvements.

"We've been planning the details for months so that we could complete construction, move equipment and technology systems from upstairs to downstairs in one night, and be ready for our customers first thing in the morning without missing a beat."

Phase 1 of SJC's $1.3 billion terminal area improvement program involves the modernization and replacement of the airport's terminal facilities. The overall project includes the construction of a new Terminal B and Concourse that will take the place of Terminal C, originally built in 1965, along with upgrades and expansion at Terminal A to provide more spacious and comfortable waiting areas and faster security check-in systems.

Over the next year, SJC will be completing major elements of the program. Interim activation of the Terminal B Concourse will take place this summer when several gates will be used by Southwest until the rest of the terminal is completed next summer.

The program also includes a new 3350-space rental car and public parking garage directly in front of Terminal B; expanded space for more options for quality food, beverage, and retail services; and improved roadways serving the airport for more convenient access.

The modernization program is scheduled for completion by the end of 2010.  Plans for future airport expansion in Phase 2, which would extend Terminal B and add new gates, will be contingent on reaching growth triggers for the number of flights or passengers pre-established in collaboration with the airlines serving San José.

ABOUT MINETA SAN JOSÉ INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
Mineta San José International Airport, a self-supporting enterprise, is owned and operated by the City of San José.  SJC served 9.7 million passengers and handled approximately 162 million pounds of air cargo in 2008.  SJC has approximately 150 flights a day on 13 domestic and international carriers to 27 nonstop destinations.

Mineta San José International Airport is located in San José, California's third largest city and the nation's tenth largest city (population 1,007,000).

For more Airport information, visit www.sjc.org, or call Airport Customer Service at (408) 501-0979.  Motorists can also tune their radios to 530 AM within two miles of SJC for current information on airport traffic, parking and security.

San Jose Airport Loses 1 Million Passengers

(From NBCbayarea.com)

Mineta San Jose International Airport has told San Jose city officials that passenger traffic fell by one million people in 2008. Airport officials said airline capacity reductions throughout the nation and the deep economic recession have contributed to the drop off.

The passenger traffic numbers dropped from 10.7 million in 2997 to 9.7 million in 2008. That is a 8.8 percent drop. Airport officials said December 2008 traffic fell 14 percent to 689,000, compared to 813,000 in December 2007.

That was the 15th straight month that passenger traffic had dropped compared to one year earlier, airport officials reported. Airport traffic had not been under 700,000 passengers since February, 1995.

Full story

Southwest Adjusts Summer Schedules

Southwest Airlines has released their summer schedule plans, and despite trimming nearly a dozen flights nationwide, the Bay Area is largely unaffected.

From Oakland Airport: Beginning May 9, 2009, an additional flight will be added to Albuquerque for a total of 3 daily nonstops. One additional flight to Kansas City route will result in 2 daily nonstops. Southwest will bring back a daily flight to Nashville which had previously been dropped from its schedule. Finally, Oakland will loose one flight up to Reno, but will continue to offer 3 daily nonstops.

From San Jose Airport: Overall, a loss of 2 flights on already high frequency routes. Las Vegas looses one flight, down to 8 nonstops. Los Angeles also looses a flight, but still leaves a whopping 12 daily flights still intact.

No adjustments to scheduled to/from Sacramento and San Francisco Airport were listed in their Summer schedule of changes.

San Jose to Long Beach - $39 Each Way

JetBlue's e-vent of the week promotion will score you a ticket to/from San Jose and Long Beach for just $39 bucks each way. $10 more to/from San Francisco and Oakland. Book before Thursday for travel between January 7 to February 11, 2009. Visit jetblue.com

United Slashes More Flights From San Jose

Considered yet another setback for South Bay flyers, United Airlines will drop flights from San Jose to Chicago-O'Hare airport effective November 2nd. This comes after the airline recently ended flights between San Jose and Washington-Dulles. Transcontinental flyers using United from the South Bay will now need to connect in either Los Angeles or Denver, both cities which have seen recent reduction in United flights already.

Horizon Airlines To Debut San Jose to Sacramento flights

Horizon Airlines, a subsidiary of the Alaska Air Group announced it will launch once daily service between San Jose, CA and Sacramento beginning August 25th. No other airline currently offers this routing. United Airlines/Skywest comes closest, with several daily flights between Sacramento and its San Francisco hub.

The new Horizon flight will be operated by a 76-seater Q-400 turboprop plane. Tickets can be purchased beginning June 15th.

Free Wi-Fi Now Available At San Jose Airport

Travelers flying through Mineta San Jose International Airport will now have access to complimentary WiFi on their next trip. According to the Silicon Valley Business Journal, the airport officially began offering the service on Thursday, and is available throughout the entire airport facility. In addition to San Jose, Sacramento airport also offers from WiFi for Bay Area flyers.

The complimentary San Jose WiFi service will eventually include ads, but users can opt for ad-free service for an $8 per day charge. About 30,000 passengers fly through San Jose airport each day.

Security Breach At San Jose Airport

Breaking News - 9:30AM. A security breach at San Jose Mineta occurred this morning. According to officials, a bullet was found near a passengers seat onboard a United Airlines flight. This has triggered a re-screen of passengers.

Oakland/San Jose - Istanbul, Turkey $533 rt/taxes included

Pretty good deal into Istanbul. Promotional Fare on Northwest Airlines/KLM. Valid thru March. Booking class "V" and available at www.nwa.com. Flights from Oakland include segments on Alaska Airlines.

Demolition of San Jose's Terminal C begins

Demolition of the north end of Terminal C at Mineta San José International Airport began last night in order to clear the site for the start of construction of the airport's new Terminal B.

Over the next month, construction crews will work nights from about 10:30 p.m. to 4:30 a.m. to take down the structural frame of the building,remove debris, and prepare the site for new construction.

The work is part of the airport's comprehensive $1.3 billion program to replace and renovate all the terminal facilities, roadways, and parking over the next two and a half years. When Terminal B is placed in service in mid-2010, the remainder of Terminal C will be removed so that the final section of the new terminal roadway can be completed.

More information about the airport improvements can be found here.

San Jose - Palm Springs now available - NONstop

Horizon Air will inaugurate new once-daily, nonstop jet service between San Jose and Palm Springs today. The seasonal service will run through April 6, 2008. The only other competition in this market is from United Airlines with twice daily service from SFO.

The new flights will be operated with 70-seat CRJ-700 regional jets and feature Horizon’s special brand of inflight service, including snacks, Starbucks coffee, and wine and microbrews at no extra charge. A quick check of fares showed prices as low as $74.00 each way for advance ticketing.

Horizon and Alaska currently serve Palm Springs with year-round nonstop flights from Sacramento, San Francisco.

Oakland - Buffalo NY - $81+tax each way Southwest Airlines. Fare available Tue/W/F/Sat
San Jose - Raleigh/Durham NC - $86+tax each way Southwest Airlines. Fare avail most days
Sacramento - San Diego - $46+tax each way Southwest Airlines. Fare avail most days.
Above are all DING! fares from Southwest December 2-December 15th.