Oakland International Airport

The other "bookend" to my PSP flight would be OAK - Oakland International Airport. OAK is an airport that is simultaneously interesting and not very interesting at all.

OAK is interesting because it's located in the Bay Area and it's one of three Bay Area airports, along with SFO and SJC, whereas the greater Los Angeles area seems to come in with five airports. Oakland and San Francisco airports are definitely on the bay, with flights coming in or taking off over the water. San Jose's airport is very close to the water, just inland from the murky and crappy but ecologically fragile way that San Francisco Bay becomes "the South Bay."

Then, OAK is not interesting because the terminals, and anything associated with the airport, have nothing memorable about them. These edifices could be in Dubuque or Dubai. Well, not really. Dubai always throws a lot of money at anything and everything to make a statement. But OAK's buildings and set up could also work at most secondary airports, be it halfway around the globe or in the southern hemisphere.

This airport seems to follow the template of a few other American airports. By that, I mean that it has two terminals, whereby one is where Southwest operates in "focus city" mode, given that they don't have "hubs" (when they really do), and the other terminal is used by everyone else. St. Louis is set up like this, Minneapolis-St. Paul is similar in that it cleanly splits low cost and legacy carriers between its two terminals, and Chicago-Midway seems to have two and a half terminals, where Southwest flight gates are not commingled with those of other carriers that might also use MDW.

OAK is also convenient and not convenient. BART goes up and down the East Bay but does not snuggle up to the airport. They weren't going to have it "dog leg" over to make easy access feasible. To get into the airport, one now needs to take a monorail type vehicle from the station at Oakland Coliseum, which then increases the BART fare to and from OAK. The view of the stadia from the Oakland Coliseum station platform is very cool, as is the Disneyland-like quality of this BART operated people mover that is up on stilts and seemingly races around curves.

Back in the day, there was a shuttle bus to connect to BART. That was no fun at all. In fact, this review sort of parallels my experiences with PSP. I "met" OAK a long time ago, never used it since, and recently used it again, and only once.

A long time ago, I crossed the pond, visited a few countries, and was bohemian in attitude about this journey, though certainly not in appearance. When I got back, I slept on a couch in Brooklyn Heights, in addition to going up to Montreal and Toronto for the first time. Then, when I had to get back to the West Coast, and do it cheaply, I was told to check out now defunct Tower Air. They, along with some other carriers, helped pioneer one-way pricing. As such, I flew them from JFK in New York, taking the A-train subway to Howard Beach-JFK to board one of their decrepit 747s of 100-series vintage and pay $ 199 to have them cart me to "the Coast" - specifically to OAK - and that included putting the bags underneath. Then, I had to take that shuttle bus to BART with too many pieces of luggage, ride BART, and use a local bus to get to a friend's house in the East Bay where I had left my car in the unused garage bay of a fairly nice house that set him back about $ 269 K. Maybe I shouldn't complain. Those were "kinder, gentler" times.

The terminal used by Southwest is utilitarian and its linearity can make for long walks. I didn't bother to look for food. The bathrooms were clean, though. I will agree that, for not being such a big airport, the luggage took a little longer to get onto the carousels than I thought it might. So, while some of these factors might have been annoying and/or boring, the one thing that recently probably got my blood pressure up were some advertisements for U.C. Berkeley. That's about guaranteed to do it.

I can give Oakland 3 stars for the words "BORING FUNCTIONAL AIRPORT." One good thing I can say about OAK is that, like other Bay Area airports, there may be views of those other Bay Area airports while landing and taking off. That's a lot less likely at the SoCal airports.

I can also have fun with this. Another friend of mine had in-laws who lived in Walnut Creek, an area with which I have a love-hate relationship. He would say he was going to "Creek of Nuts" to spend the weekend. This moniker then obtained a contraction, becoming "Creek O' Nuts." Finally, it was shortened to "the Creek." He had nicknames for other Bay Area communities as well, and his nickname for Oakland was "Land of Oak." I can give this airport 3 stars for those 3 words. (That's also what I now call Oakland.)

Maybe I should stop now. I should probably just say that Oakland International Airport is a 3 star airport, and the call letters O-A-K spell that out.

OAK is a Small airport, like the Bob Hope (BUR) airport in Burbank so, it has its pros and cons.

*Pros*
- no long lines when checking your luggage
- security checkpoint has been easy to go through
- catching a rideshare is easy, no shuttle's needed

*Cons*
- only one Flight/Gate information screen located in the back of the terminal, near gate 11, so, it will be terrible if you're in a rush trying to confirm your departure gate.
- The gate agents from multiple airlines talk over each other so it's very easy to miss your boarding details having to fight over what information to filter out. They need to fix this
- Not a lot of food options, probably since it is a small airport

Overall I would recommend this airport as opposed to SFO for the ease of it. And it is less crowded

Its OST (One Star Tue) again!!!!!

I have flown into OAK many times. When my parents were still alive, they lived in Alameda and OAK was very convenient.

I have committed to visiting friends & family in the area at least once a year, bc it is a short flight fr So CA to OAK. Nonetheless, the shitty experience I had with the rental car shuttle on Fri, 8/16, as well as no benefit for TSA Pre in Terminal 1, leaves much to be desired.

The first shuttle was full. So a family & I made a line where the previous bus stopped and waited for the next shuttle. The second shuttle overshoots us and stops in front of peeps who arrived after us. There were so many peeps I couldn't get on the shuttle again: I was pissed!

A third shuttle arrives and once again there is no designated line: I was fuming!!!!! I said fuk it and ordered an Uber. It cost me $25 w/ tip to get to the rental car station.

Secondarily, you get no benefit from TSA Pre or Clear in Terminal 1. Everyone lines up in general population. The TSA screeners are the slowest I have ever experienced. You have to put your luggage in a tray, and they expect you to put your tray away after being screened. I have never seen the foregoing at another airport.

Fuk U OAK!!!!! You idiots need to run more shuttles, or have staff to organize a queue so peeps get on the shuttle in the order they arrive at the pick up spot. Secondarily, travelers pay for TSA Pre & Clear. There should be a separate line like Terminal 2, or other up to date airports. This kind of mismanagement is why the city lost the Raiders, Warriors & A's. In addition, mismanagement is why peeps don't know that it is closer to fly into OAK to get to DTSF vs flying into SFO. It took management a gazillion years to add SF to the airport name. Doh!!!!!

I have flown into Oakland a few times and am never really impressed with this place. There are two terminals, one being mostly being a Southwest terminal. For some reason, I always end up at the furthest possible gate when arriving or departing. To get to baggage claim or ground transport takes a pretty long walk if you are at the furthest gate. Food options are pretty scarce or over crowded. There are no fast food options if you are looking for a quick bite other than a Subway. The bathrooms are not the cleanest and everything needs an upgrade. I ended up going to a new pizza place that costed an arm and leg for a mediocre meal at best. They don't have a rental car center at the property, so you have to grab a shuttle to the not super close rental car center. The busses have always been very packed every time I have used it. They definitely need to add more on the route to alleviate the congestion.

Overall just a terrible airport in my opinion. Sometimes it is cost effective as opposed to flying into San Francisco, but with the price of tolls just to get into San Francisco, I made as well pay the extra dough for convenience.

Easy access and the police run a tight ship here too. Tons of shuttles to your hotel and rental car drop off.

Easy airport to fly in and out. Catching Uber or Lyft is right outside. Not far from baggage claim. Nice service all around from all the staff. Flew out here for business during busy Easter break but the lines moved quickly. There's Peet's coffee for us coffee lovers which is a plus. Plenty of parking adjacent to the terminals. The escape lounge is available and opens early. Access for all with a fee, or complimentary with AX or Delta Sky Miles with AX. Overall, great experience.

Cheers!

Not a thorough visit. A layover from Ontario ca to Kauai Hi. The bathrooms are clean, peeps are friendly.

Easy airport to navigate....of course we live Southwest! Great option for those who love to travel to Sonoma Coast/Napa area!

Stop in at Vino Volo for some extra love and good vibes while you wait for your flight..

Oakland International Airport is another airport, where I think it's a good transportation option to travel domestically just like SJ Mineta Airport. Not really difference between both airports, but I imagine that this airport is like the one in SJ

Pretty much they have good restaurants and shops. Airport is sanitized and kept clean. Expect to be much foot traffic especially on the weekends. Also have a safe flight when you get here!

Terminal 2 is so hot!! No air conditioning!!

Not cool!

Go to SFO if you want to stay cool.

Not sure if this temporary but just a tip for TSA pre check peeps. don't expect to be quick security screening. The line for TSA pre check is separate but the security screening merge with regular security screening un like sfo where it has its own dedicated line. For people like to go to airport last minute.