"Continental departs Oakland airport"

Friday, June 13, 2008

Continental departs Oakland airport
By David Goll
The Sacramento (CA) Business Journal 


Continental Airlines is the latest carrier to pull out of Oakland
International Airport. 

The soaring cost of fuel was cited as the main reason Continental is pulling
the plug on its three daily flights between the East Bay and its
headquarters city of Houston starting Sept. 3. Oakland is one of 15 small
and medium-sized cities worldwide that Continental has dropped from its
schedule, a list that includes Palm Springs and Reno, Nev. 

The news follows the airline's June 5 announcement of its plans to cut 3,000
jobs and ground 67 of its own aircraft in response to rising jet fuel
prices. 

There will still be Southwest Airlines flights connecting Oakland and
Houston. 

Earlier this spring, Oakland had to grapple with the loss of Aloha Airlines,
ATA Airlines and Skybus Airlines, all of which went out of business. In
April, Rosemary Barnes, an Oakland International spokeswoman, said just the
loss of those three airlines could result in $2 million in lost revenue this
year for the airport. 

The continuing turmoil affecting the entire airline industry could bring an
end to the string of 10 straight years of growth in passenger volume at the
East Bay's air hub, which has been among the nation's fastest-growing
airports. Last year, the airport hit an all-time record of 14.6 million
passengers. It has undergone a $300 million remodel and expansion in recent
years, encompassing its terminals, parking lots and road network. 

Southwest is still the dominant carrier at Oakland, accounting for more than
60 percent of the airport's daily schedule of flights, with JetBlue Airways
accounting for about 10 percent. 

Continental is the No. 7 carrier at Sacramento International Airport; it
carried about 300,000 passengers to and from the region last year, almost 3
percent of the total passenger traffic. 

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