I have been avoiding OAK almost like the plague - but next Friday, it is unavoidable. I even heard from a FA recently that the crew arrived late because of the traffic on Hegenberger Rd. Parking, as we know, is a joke. Security is better than before, but still not great. Anyway, has anyone been there recently on a Friday afternoon/evening? I hate to arrive at that fun-filled airport with 2 hours to kill, but there may be no other choice.

Can you take BART to the appropriate stop and ride the buds to OAK?

I can not recall the exact stop and bus route but should be here:

www. transitinfo.org

I do recall that coming from the City it was a reasonable trip and inexpensive with no driving hassles. I think OAK is a great airport. If I didn't live in Half Moon Bay I would use it more often. When BART runs down the peninsula farther I just may do it.

------------------
"Oh heck, bring me a quad."

BART is just not feasible, and besides, during those peak traffic nightmare hours, the buses sit in the same crap on Hegenberger Road. But thanks for your suggestion. I do want to hear from anyone who has had a recent Friday PM experience there. One day last year it was taking people over an hour to get from 880 to the terminal. I was sitting in it.

I am, as always, 100% with you in terms of my thoughts on OAK.

But what about driving down to the following exit (if you're headed southbound)...does that avoid any of the madness? I seem to think that might stem some of the Hegenberger pain.



[This message has been edited by snorkmaster (edited 04-28-2003).]

Just to mention that using the 98th Ave onramp/exit is what a Bayporter driver mentioned to me, too. Of course, that doesn't do you any good when taking the BART bus link, since they get paid by the hour.
Rich

I feel your pain about OAK. I switched to SFO,
their new road layout is great.

The worst case for OAK is when incoming flights
are delayed and meeting parties just drive
around the loop killing time rather than pay
for short term parking.


[This message has been edited by squid (edited 04-30-2003).]

There is simply no way around the OAK traffic. Plain and simple. What makes it worse is that OAK offers no decent restaraunts/cafes to kill the time... its like being marooned in a Denny's.

I know this doesn't exactly make me a good host, but I've occasionally asked friends take the Air BART bus over to the Oakland/Coliseum station, and have picked them up over there. It's not the greatest place to sit around waiting for someone, but it sure beats making loops at the Airport.

Today mid-day the traffic reports were that due to the construction and added car checks, traffic was stopped from 880. That's a good hour-plus to get to the airport.

EastBay - what's the ETA on when Hegenberger's supposed to be finished?

My last trip from BUR was into SJC instead of OAK on WN in April. The traffic situation in OAK has me kinda leery and SJC was only 30 min or so from Hayward...

With UA flying RJs BUR-SFO, I'm starting to loose options for my trips!

Thanks!

Just to bump this thread with our experience: We arrived Friday evening on Aloha from Kona. Walking to baggage claim was like the pictures from the last flight out of Saigon. There was a couple and their little one with them at the baggage claim who had expected to be met by grandma. She breathlessly came up to them at the baggage claim and said it had taken her an hour and a half from 880 to the airport. If you were departing on one of the several red-eyes that night, the security line went almost to the lobby and snaked back on itself at least once.

When we deplaned, we were told luggage would be on carousel two; another AQ rep said carousel three. When it finally came it was on carousel one. And the sign on carousel never did tell which flight it was (is that an airport or an airline issue?)

Neither the airport nor its infra-structure was ever designed for the kind of crowds and capacity that it's experiencing. Even though we much prefer Aloha over UA for a Hawaii flight, the ease of getting to SFO now via BART will cause us to use OAK as little as possible.

Another related effect is that the off-airport parking shuttle vans are very slow (because they're sitting in the backup too); our Expresso shuttle took 20 minutes to get there, and then the driver managed (not safely, but managed) to get probably 40 people on the shuttle and a tremendous and unsafe mound of luggage!

Don't know if it's the same every night at 10:30pm, but that was our Friday night experience.



[This message has been edited by cblaisd (edited 08-03-2003).]

I think your experience is fairly close to the norm for mid-late evening arrivals and departures at OAK.

Recognizing that the facilities just aren't equipped to handle the current volume of traffic, I think the airport administration could be more creative and/or proactive in managing the traffic problem. More aggressive "curbside management" (i.e., getting the traffic cops to work rather than flirt with each other) or perhaps some sort of remote drop-off/pick-up facility (?) might help a little bit in the short run. The second idea is pretty far fetched, but I think it's the kind of out of the box thinking the OAK management folks need to do if their going to keep pax numbers growing.

p.s. -- The sign on the carousel at an airport like OAK is more likely than not that airline's responsibility.




[This message has been edited by snorkmaster (edited 08-06-2003).]

The bigger problem is the clueless airport operations team at OAK.

1) Baggage claims OWNED by OAK, 2 break down a week normally. Hence consolidating to one or two baggage claims (old terminal vs the southwest terminal)

2) OAK could take the ramp area in front of the UA ops area all the way down the airport approach road and put a temporary road "non airside" that allow for priority access to the BART and OAK OWNED Long Term busses and maybe a "kiss and fly" somewhere outside the airport. The backup seems to be worst around the approaches to get to parking and dropping people off. The transport lanes seem to always be moving.

3) No elite line at the security checkpoint. Other than UA, most OAK carriers do provide a timely checkin, so the biggest hassle is the security checkpoint

4) Timing the charters to leave peak AM! What morons... to boot putting the charter check in near the checkpoints. You would think OAK would provide a landing fee incentive to the charters to not fly peak hours.

I expect things to get better in September after school starts. Summers are terrible at peak travel times, and OAK is probably as overcrowded as any airport under these circumstances. I sure hope the new access road has more lanes, and that they finish it before next summer.