Oakland International Airport

There are many things that I like about this airport, especially when comparing it to SFO. The airport is much smaller and easier to navigate, with fewer terminals so it is easier to find your way around. There is a FANTASTIC ice cream that you need to try if you are in the Southwest terminal called Fenton's. The airport has a fairly new "green" decor with a vertical garden that is nice and relaxing to look at as well as some new purified water dispensers so you can bring your empty water bottle and refill it after you go past security. There are a few options for food, including Mexican, pizzas and some fast food. I also like that you can take Bart and the new train right into the airport which makes it very safe and convenient. The train is much better than the previous bus shuttle. Overall is a more convenient and smaller airport than SFO.

Flying into OAK is normally pretty smooth. Quick deplaning, and the airport is organized pretty well. Whenever I'm picked up here, it's quick in and out. There's a nearby cell phone lot, which is convenient.

I've also rented a car from here - pretty smooth. You need to take a short shuttle ride to the car rental area. The lines go slow, but the car I got was pretty good. I was warned as I left not to park in the area because of all of the smash and grabs that were happening. I'm not surprised, because it's Oakland, but it was still a little unsettling.

Just another quick update on Oakland International Airport.

Although it's my preferred airport, it's not the most convenient for me so I typically use San Jose International Airport for most domestic flights and SFO for specific international flights.

The one thing that I've noticed is that the airport itself is safe, but if you're coming to visit with rental cars etc and need to stop by shops, restaurants, etc. in the area, it's not so safe. So just be careful and hide all things inside your car or bring your luggage in with you wherever you are.

Aside from that, OAK is a great airport. As I mentioned in previous reviews, delays here are fewer than the surrounding airports. So that's why I do prefer this airport.

Airport drop off and pick up is relatively convenient but don't linger as the security will not want you to be idling. There's a park and call on the way to the terminals which is helpful when waiting for arrivals of loved ones (or perhaps not loved ones). All parking is uncovered so prepare with umbrellas if needed.

Beside that, your standard airport that's convenient if you're closer to it. Just adjust time coming to and from this airport as 880 can be a nightmare during peak commute times.

Oakland Airport stands out as an excellent choice for Southwest flights, offering both efficiency and affordability. The airport's streamlined operations often result in swift TSA lines, ensuring a hassle-free travel experience. With a focus on quickness and budget-friendly options, Oakland Airport proves to be a top pick for those seeking convenient and economical domestic flights within the United States.

I feel like this airport gets a bad wrap because of the location and before they renovated it, it used to be crap.

I think they have done a lot of upgrades to the terminals where it isn't so bad anymore. I have TSA pre-check and I have never had an unpleasant experience with TSA here. I'm a flight nanny and they all typically love seeing the puppies I'm flying when going through the metal detector so like I said, I've never had a bad experience.

I do think they can have better amenities and better restaurants to eat at when waiting for your flight but they've come a long way from before.

Like I said, it's not a great location being in Oakland. So much crime used to happen on 98th (exit you take to get to the airport) that they closed the Starbucks and Subway that was located on that street. The other thing is the street itself needs to be repaved so bad! But Oakland seems to be neglecting the condition it's in.

Overall, convenient and easy airport to get to and use.

I love flying into the Oakland Airport, if I can avoid flying in SF airport. LOL I would consider this a medium size airport, it is easy to navigate around, shuttle service to rental car is right outside the airport, you can't miss it. The TSA lines is pretty quick for us. If you're flying with Southwest Airline there is are 2 security check point you can go through, one by the main entrance of airport or the one near the end of Terminal 2, which is usually my preference since its even quicker and less crowded than the main security areas. Some of the areas of the terminal has been updated, there is several mother station for nursing available. Plenty of food options as well. All the rental car is about 10-15 minute drive on the shuttle and all located at the same general area which makes it super convenient for pickup/drop off. The Bart station is user friendly as well, it just takes some time so prepare wisely.

Not the world's greatest airport, but definitely a more convenient airport versus making a trek from the East Bay just to fly out of San Francisco or San Jose.

Here's what makes OAK "convenient" to me:
~ Since they installed the AirBART a few years ago, it has made taking the BART a more appealing option. I remember the times of riding to the Coliseum Station and then catching a bus (+$6) just to transfer to the airport. And it was such a hassle dealing with folks that were attending a baseball game or concert. Luggages and hundreds of people don't mix. It's so much better now, walking to the opposite end of the station, then heading up the escalator towards the AirBART.
~ Parking: Well, they've got Premier, Daily, Hourly, and Economy. I've never parked in Premier, but I know Hourly is about $5 per hour. If I were on vacation, I'd usually just choose Daily at about $24 for the day. Not too bad in price, but I usually find a discount on their website. And believe me, it pays to have a discount as I have paid over $150 at times. Be aware upon exiting, that there is a "credit card only" line, and if you have a discount code you cannot use it in this exit line. You'd have to go to a booth for the attendant to issue the discount.
~ Traffic: The airport is diamond shape, so it somewhat flows well turning a corner just to see how busy it is up ahead. Just remember its only two terminals. I don't ever recall running into heavy traffic for pick up or drop off.
~ Park-n-Call: This area needs an expansion. It's a cone shaped parking lot and folks end up parking stupidly.
~ Food options in the terminals: No huge restaurant presences here, but they do have a decent choice for coffee and brew. There's a couple of Peet's, a Pyramid Ale Taproom for some nachos and beer, East Bay Cafe for some pizza and sandwiches (high foot traffic area), Vino Volo for wine (near the main terminal exit), and few other grab-n-go options. It appears Fenton's and CPK have closed.
~ TSA: No real issues dealing with them.

Flying in and out of OAK over the years has just been golden. I've seen this airport go from old and dirty, to restoration in-progress and nearly cleaned up! But you can't manage sloppy people ruin the gate cleanliness. Regardless, this is my Bay Area choice to fly out of versus SFO or SJC, as it is just the closer option especially if you're coming from the Livermore or Walnut Creek areas. Have a safe flight folks!

I have flown to and from this airport about a million times, and generally have an excellent experience. The few problems have always been with delayed baggage coming down the chute. But most of the time everything works out okay. We always use Southwest Airlines, which is quite reliable.

We even have a few meals here, but of course the prices are very high. For example, a typical beer is over $10. So I try to fill up on beer beforehand, so I don't need to buy any here.

I used to park in off site parking, but now I just take Uber to the airport. It's very fast and not very expensive. They also have an option to take the BART extension. I believe it is $6.

So all-in-all, a convenient, easy airport. Good access, generally good service.

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.

As I dream about adventure and excursions I realize it is time to share my OAK thoughts. Easily overlooked, OAK is the way to go if you don't like lines and like the feeling of being in an Uber 10 min after disembarking.

You can also get there via BART and relatively easy to figure it out and get to SF or other parts of the East bay.
Small and efficient; Oakland airport is not only convenient, it's easy.

I'm sad to see that they've lost most of their international carriers. There were a few years there you could fly anywhere to Europe from OAK, now that's no longer the case. I even feel like at this point, even their longer distance domestic destinations are limited.

Food: Right now it's not only limited, but kind of low quality; think fast food and a Peet's. I've read that more is to expected like Oakland's sandwich spot Southie, and I hope that pandemic doesn't halt that.

I'll always choose Oakland airport to fly out of, just wish I could grab an overpriced sandwich I'd actually enjoy and they'd figure out how to woo some of those international destinations back.

Never the issues one gets at SF International, for sure.
Convenient and freeway close.
Only issue is, no one told me the entire city shuts
down at 9PM so , if your renting a car, be there by 8:50PM
or you'll be looking to steal one and split or try walking back
across the Oakland bridge at 2AM.
Other than that, it's cool.