Oakland International Airport Sees Increased Passenger, Cargo Traffic in 1998

Oakland, CA, February 18, 1999 -- Passenger traffic at Oakland International Airport increased 1 percent in 1998 to a total of 9,231,280 passengers, marking the first increase in two years.

A 3 percent increase in air cargo traffic marked the fourteenth consecutive year of growth, with air freight showing an increase of 3.02 percent to 660,766 metric tons and air mail increasing 3.62 percent to 38,148 metric tons.

"Bay Area passengers are starting to realize that Oakland International is not only the most convenient airport, but also consistently has the best on-time record of the region’s three airports," said Steven J. Grossman, director of aviation for the Port of Oakland, which operates the airport.

The year also saw the addition of two airlines at Oakland International: Mexicana, with service to Guadalajara and Mexico City, and WinAir, with nonstop service to Long Beach.

Oakland International has 163 scheduled passenger flights a day on 13 domestic and international airlines, plus 64 daily all-cargo flights. It is the regional distribution center for FedEx and the U.S. Postal Service.

Known as "The Bay Area’s Value Airport," Oakland offers the lowest average fares of any Bay Area airport, according to a recent study published in Aviation Daily. The U.S. Department of Transportation has documented that it consistently has the best on-time record in the Bay Area.

It also is the only Bay Area airport with a dedicated shuttle bus that meets every Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system train at the nearby Coliseum station. On-airport parking rates are as low as $8 a day in the economy lot.