OAK is the New San
Francisco Bay Area Base for Allegiant
Provides
Significant Boost to Bay Area Tourism
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Oakland International Airport (OAK) and Allegiant Travel Company together look forward
to spring due to two recent announcements. Allegiant launched new
nonstop service to Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport in mid-January, and
plans to add seven new nonstop destinations and open a base at OAK
on April 26, 2012.
Allegiant, part of the
highly profitable Allegiant Travel Company known for exceptional
travel deals, will add the new nonstop cities to its existing three
for a total of 10 markets in Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and
Washington served from OAK this spring.
The airline’s expansion
is significant for both OAK and the San Francisco Bay Area. At OAK,
Allegiant will create jobs for 60 people; base two 166-seat MD-80
aircraft; and carry thousands of tourists to and from the Bay Area
each week.
Allegiant Travel Company
is focused on linking travelers in small cities to world-class
leisure destinations like the San Francisco Bay Area which is
consistently ranked as one the world’s favorite leisure
destinations. They also offer hotel rooms, rental cars, and
attraction tickets through allegiant.com. The economic impact
for the seven new flights is estimated at between $75 million and
$100 million in the first year of operation.
“The San Francisco Bay
Area is a wonderful addition to our vacation destination
offerings,” said Andrew Levy, Allegiant Travel Company president.
“Oakland International Airport provides our customers convenient
access to all the Bay Area has to offer. We are happy to partner
with an airport that operates in a low-cost, efficient manner which
allows us to pass the savings on to our customer.”
In addition to
Bellingham, Washington; Eugene, Oregon; and Phoenix-Mesa,
Allegiant’s seven new cities served from OAK are:
In Montana
– Billings, Bozeman, Kalispell and Missoula;
In Oregon –
Medford and Redmond; and
The airline’s prime
target market is inbound Bay Area tourists who stay on average 3.2
days. Allegiant moved to OAK from SFO in 2009, citing OAK’s lower
operating costs, accessibility to downtown San Francisco, and
on-time reliability.
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Free Parking Offer
Continues to Boost Business at OAK
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Visit Oaklandairport.com to check out our latest
parking discounts.
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OAK kept things moving
during the typically quieter travel period between Thanksgiving and
the December holidays with an amazing gift for travelers. For the
second time in 2011, OAK’s innovative free parking offer boosted
traffic and allowed travelers to experience the value and
convenience of on-airport parking.
Between Thanksgiving Day
and December 22, 2011, FREE parking in the Daily lot was offered to
those departing on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday to ANY destination. Customers received
up to 72 hours of free parking, an incredible $66 value.
The "Park
Free" promotion generated an increase in passenger traffic.
This boost in activity is not only good for airlines, but is better
for business overall as OAK’s concessions also experienced
increased sales.
OAK has plans for other
exciting parking promotions in 2012. It’s our way of saying thanks
to our customers for flying OAK
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Marily Mora Joins OAK as
Assistant Director of Aviation
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Marily Mora joined the
Port of Oakland as Assistant Director of Aviation for OAK in
November 2011. Mora is leading a high-performing operation in
support of the Port’s Strategic Plan initiatives around workforce
and operations. She is responsible for the day-to-day operations of
the airport with direct responsibility for the Airside, Landside,
Security, Administration, and Facilities departments.
“Marily’s extensive
experience in the aviation industry will play a vital role over the
next several years as she and the airport team delivers innovation
and excellence in customer service, safety, and security, all of
which are core to OAK's business,” said Deborah Ale Flint, Director
of Aviation for the Port of Oakland, which owns and operates the
airport.
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OAK
by the Numbers
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*On-airport
jobs created by the Port of Oakland, airline and cargo carriers,
concessions, corporate aviation businesses, and the major
construction projects underway at OAK.
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2012 to be a Year of Growth for OAK
Hawaii, Mexico and
Europe Nonstop
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Demand for leisure
travel is back for both domestic and international destinations in
2012, and OAK airlines have the ticket for sun-and-sand and
history-and-culture vacations.
Hawaiian
Islands
Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines continue to add service
to Hawaii with daily nonstop flights to four Hawaiian Islands. By
April, Alaska will offer daily nonstops on new B737-800 aircraft to Honolulu, on
the island of Oahu, Kahului, Maui, Kailua-Kona, on the Big Island,
as well as Lihue, Kauai. Hawaiian offers daily nonstops on B767-300 wide-body, twin-aisle aircraft to
Honolulu and has increased its seasonal nonstop service to Maui to
year-round.
Together, the airlines will offer a record 1,000-plus peak day
seats from OAK to the Hawaiian Islands. “Given that the first
transoceanic flights from North America to the Hawaiian Islands
originated from OAK in 1927, it is fitting that Oakland
International becomes a major gateway to Hawaii today. “Customers
tell us every day that there is no better way to begin a Hawaiian vacation
than from Oakland,” said John Albrecht, Aviation Marketing &
Communications Manager for the Port of Oakland. “Our easy airport
access, the excellent customer service offered by these two
renowned carriers, and on-time flights add up to a winning combination
for travelers.” OAK also joins the Oakland seaport as a major
gateway to Hawaiian commerce.
Mexico and
Europe
Beyond the US, Mexico and European holidays are making a comeback. Volaris and ArkeFly are ready to take
travelers there.
Volaris offers daily nonstops to Mexico City and Guadalajara, both in
demand destinations for visiting-friends-and-relatives travelers as
well as those destined to Mexico for business reasons.
ArkeFly,
a unit of the TUI group of travel companies in Europe, will be
flying tourists between Europe and the Bay Area when new nonstop
service from Amsterdam to OAK begins in June 2012. Visitors from
Western Europe typically stay for 7 to 9 nights adding further
economic impact to area tourism. Additionally, Europe is a
sought-after destination for Bay Area locals, especially during the
summer months when ArkeFly will operate.
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Oakland Named Top
Five Destination in the World by New York Times
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Bay Area insiders have long recognized Oakland as a
destination for its top ranked bistros, nightclubs, entertainment
venues, and the vibrant, contemporary art scene. The secret is now
out as The New York Times listed Oakland at number five in its "The 45 Places to Go in 2012” (in
the world). Oakland was the top ranked destination in
North America.
The Huffington Post lauded Oakland as the “coolest new kid in the country.” Oakland is on
the international radar as “an increasingly appealing place to be
after dark” for its nightlife scene, and for local favorites such as
the Fox Theater, Brown Sugar Kitchen, Tamarindo, Heinold's First And Last Chance Saloon (visit the replica in OAK’s Terminal 1) and Redwood Regional Park (just to name a few!).
Now, travelers have many more reasons to fly through OAK. They may
come for the celebration surrounding the 75th Anniversary of the
Golden Gate Bridge and catch other top-ranked Bay Area attractions,
and now Oakland is top ranked among them.
Learn more at VisitOakland.org.
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Join us today and stay up to date on all things OAK and
a few things not!
Visit us on Facebook and Twitter for airport and airline service updates.
For information on departures and arrivals, ticketing, and more
visit oaklandairport.com.
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