Oakland Airport Plans Upgrades To Attract Bay Traffic

<H1> Oakland Airport Plans Upgrades To Attract Bay Traffic</H1>By Sharon Goldman Edry

<I>Oakland, Calif. </I>- San Francisco International Airport could be facing some stiff competition from its neighbor across the Bay. Oakland International Airport has released a report announcing its Airport Development Program, a group of 18 projects that will significantly expand the facility to accommodate increasing air traffic.

The improvements, which will include terminal and roadway expansion, a multilevel parking garage and replacement rental car facilities, would enable Oakland International to handle 13.8 million passengers by the year 2000, a hefty increase from 1995's 9.8 million.

The goal of the airport program, according to director of aviation Steve Grossman, is to "return us to the days of yesteryear when Oakland was the most convenient airport in the Bay Area."

To reach that objective requires rebuilding the roadway system so that travelers can get to and from the airport as quickly as possible, according to Grossman. "For the business traveler, that's important," he said, "because we all need to be able to get to the airport at the last minute-but if we have to worry about a traffic jam, passengers have to make adjustments."

Another project is a rental car return facility that would be available in the new parking garage area close to the terminal, eliminating the need to bus travelers back to their departure areas. "Fifteen percent of our customers use rental cars, so that's an important component," said Grossman.

While increased convenience means that some customers will opt to use Oakland over SFI, Grossman acknowledged that it will not divert passenger volume significantly. "Yes, we will take away some customers, but SFI won't notice it because they are so big," he said. "They are going to lose less than 1 percent, and that's a lot of people for us to handle. Our goal is not necessarily to take away passengers from SFI, but to get people in our market area to use Oakland Airport."

Indeed, 40 to 50 percent of Oakland passengers now use SFI, Grossman said. "We want those people coming to Oakland."

Nonetheless, Oakland Airport officials forecast heavy increases in passenger volume and the need to keep up with rising traffic demand. Travelers are choosing Oakland as an alternative because of its convenient location, flight schedule frequency and low fares, Grossman said.

Travel managers queried said that many of their employees would be pleased to travel out of a more convenient and larger Oakland airport.

Val Kordell, corporate travel manager for Oracle Corp., in Redwood Shores, Calif., said that the choice between using San Francisco's or Oakland's airport will ultimately be a matter of convenience for her travelers. Also, "If fares are lower out of Oakland, it will be left to the discretion of the traveler," she said. But if fares are not significantly cheaper at one airport or another, she explained, it will depend on how close the passenger is to either airport.

Another consideration will be flight patterns, Kordell added. "If non-stops are increased out of Oakland, there might be a different scenario."

Stephen R. Pinetti, vice president of sales and marketing for Kimpton Hotel & Restaurant Group, said the expansion will improve choice for travelers. Oakland's plans will make it easier for more people to get into the Bay Area, which is always positive, he said. "Basically, the whole pie will get bigger," he said.

If the airport doesn't rise to meet passenger demand, Grossman warned, "we can expect unacceptable congestion." The airport report found that gate utilization already exceeds national planning standards, baggage carousels do not meet current needs, and parking is insufficient.

Oakland International, whose corporate travel mix accounts for 35 percent of total passenger volume, also is planning state-of-the-art concession areas and business services, where equipment such as faxes, computers and modems will be available to anyone with a credit card.

"Concession areas will be tripled, because until now there has not been a large variety of places for people to shop," explained Grossman.

The release of the environmental documents regarding the expansion begins a 60-day public comment period during which the Port of Oakland, Oakland International Airport and the Federal Aviation Administration must respond to public opinion on possible environmental impacts. A public hearing will be held on the subject in November.