Southwest’s expansion fueled by local flights
Southwest Airlines is ready to soar with a bigtime expansion in the Bay Area during 2018, fueled by fresh flights in San Jose and Oakland, according to information provided Wednesday by the airline.
However, while Southwest flights are increasing from the East Bay and South Bay, the airline expects to scale back its departures from San Francisco International Airport.
“We reinvested what we’ve moved away from SFO,” said Dan Landson, a Southwest Airlines spokesman.
The biggest increases ex- pected during the one-year period through November are slated for Mineta San Jose International Airport, the air carrier stated earlier this week.
On a Monday-throughFriday basis, Southwest Airlines had 81 scheduled departures from San Jose in November 2017. Southwest said that by November of this year, that number is due to total 99 departures, or a 22.2 percent increase over the one-year period.
“Southwest is now San Jose International Airport’s largest carrier,” said John Aitken, the airport’s director of aviation.
Monday through Friday, in November 2017, Southwest had 121 departures out of Oakland International Airport. Oakland departures are due to rise to 128 by this November, an increase of 5.8 percent.
In November 2017, Monday-through-Friday, Southwest Airlines departures from San Francisco International Airport totaled 53. However, by November of this year, that number is expected to decline to 46 departures, or a 13.2 percent decrease during the 12 months.
Departures from the three Bay Area airports combined are expected to total 273 by this November, which would be a 7.1 percent increase from the 255 flights in November 2017.
Southwest Airlines, in a major step forward for its service out of the Bay Area and elsewhere on the West Coast, announced on May 3 that it would begin offering non-stop flights between four destinations in Hawaii and four California airports: Oakland, San Jose, San Diego and Sacramento.
The four islands being served are expected to be Oahu, Hawaii, Maui and Kauai.
“We’re on-track with our plans to sell tickets this year” for the new flights between California andHawaii, Southwest President Tom Nealon told a gathering on Waikiki Beach in early May.