SFO vs OAK vs SJC: San Francisco Bay Area Airports Compared

[@ChicagoGeographer]

Thanks for watching! I just posted a new video comparing Miami's airports - check it out: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jnW4p62vfJmneac

[@arjun_amin]

As someone from the Bay Area, this is really interesting!

[@mholtebeck]

I agree. He did a great job.

[@AirmetSierra]

Weird tidbit about SJC: It's not entirely within San Jose city limits. There's a chunk of the airport that's actually in Santa Clara.

[@Conrailfan2596]

Yep the NW corner is in Santa Clara

[@Aviation2762official]

yeah Runway 16R and some taxiways

[@donaldkoelper5807]

When I have a business trip to the Bay Area, I try to schedule it so I can spend the weekend in San Francisco. I'll fly into Oakland because I'm working on the east bay side and after a weekend in San Francisco, I'll depart from SFO. Of the two airports, OAK is the easiest and quickest to navigate, but as big airports go, SFO offers travelers a pleasant experience.

[@kevincostello747]

P

[@michaelcrossley5661]

I live in Fremont, so I'm in between all three. It's nice to have options.

[@titanbronco1627]

I have flown into all 3. But it hasn't been since the 90's. Should be flying out of SFO next summer though. The parallel runways at SFO are pretty cool. Always fun to look out the window and see an airplane close to you.

[@triple7marc]

SOIA approaches are very rare!

[@Notthecobracommander]

Wow didn't know all of that. It is good that Bart is expanding. So basically SFO is JFK San Jose is Newark and Oakland is LaGuardia.

[@crazyoncoffee]

Yes except SJC is so far away most people in the core Bay Area wouldn’t consider going there unless it’s the only option (which it never is). It’s mainly just for people who live closer to San Jose than San Francisco. Even then, many people from SJ go to SFO for intl and long domestic flighs (without traffic, driving from SF to SJC takes about an hour, with traffic it can be as much as 2 hours)

[@hubertnguyen5969]

@@crazyoncoffee SJC is more of a business-oriented airport. Being right in the middle of Silicon Valley, it is the most convenient stop for any executives to fly in and out of, whether it be first class or corporate. And typically, people who have destinations in San Jose will fly into their international airport as they know the traffic between there and SFO That’s how SJC became one of the fastest growing airports pre-covid

[@michaelcrossley5661]

@@crazyoncoffee San Jose is the biggest city in the bay. What are you talking about?

[@punchnazis3498]

​@@michaelcrossley5661 The majority of the Bay Area's population is centered around San Francisco/Oakland. Haven't you ever wondered why downtown SF is so much bigger and busier than downtown SJ? Why it's been at the center of the BART system since it opened 50 years ago, while SJ only just got its first BART station? Why there are all those extra government buildings in SF? Why the SF airport is so much bigger than the SJ airport? etc, etc... It's true that San Jose city-proper has more residents than SF city-proper, but municipal boundaries are pretty arbitrary, and usually give an inaccurate picture of a city's size. The city of SJ has been able to expand its boundaries by annexing neighboring towns, which is the primary reason its population surpassed SF. The city of SF on the other hand, has had its city limits locked-in for 150+ years, by the county border. But if you expanded SF's borders to be the same size as SJ's, it would have far more residents. To get a more accurate city comparison you have to look at metro areas, and the SF metro area has over twice the population of the SJ metro area (really they should be combined into one metro, but census methodology doesn't work well with the weird geography and polycentric nature of the bay area, and splits it into multiple smaller metros). But if we're talking about municipal boundaries, SF city-proper gains around 200,000 people every day (pre-covid-19), thanks mostly to commuters working downtown. SJ on the other hand loses thousands of people, due to a much higher rate of residents commuting into surrounding suburbs. So during the day, SJ doesn't actually have more people than SF.

[@michaelcrossley5661]

@@punchnazis3498 "If you expand the city," keyword, "if". Yeah, SF is the second densest city in the US, but that doesn't mean the core is in SF. It's also land locked and 850,000 people is 850,000 whether tightly pack or spread out. It's asking what weighs more, a thousand pounds of feathers or a thousand pounds of feathers.

[@opwave79]

Great historical info! I use OAK often because it’s the one closest to my home. The BART extension puts you just a crosswalk away from the terminal, so that’s nice. I barely drive and park there because of it.

[@Sovereign_Citizen_LEO]

That was a great addition when they completed it. San Jose City leaders are exploring/ planning, a similar rail line to Diridon Station to connect with BART/ HSR/ VTA, etc. The Santa Clara and San Mateo County voters screwed up in the late 1960s when they voted against BART. Otherwise it would ring the entire Bay Area (and probably go to all three airports).

[@staceybell7591]

Awesome vid! Can you do LAX,BUR,LGB next and talk about southwest’s growing presence?

[@julianmagana69]

All LA airports (QLA) also includes SNA and ONT.

[@marcusdamberger]

So far of all the airports I've landed in and near LA, I like Burbank the best, super easy on and off the plane. They load and unload from the front and back of the plane because they don't have jet bridges. So faster loading and you get to see the plane up close walking out to it. It's not a huge airport, and if you don't have any luggage to pick up outside, you can be out of the airport in no time. Alas, the plans are to eventually replace the current older terminal with a modern one that has jet bridges and all that, so someday it won't have the charm it does right now.

[@Speedster___]

+ONT SNA

[@airandres24]

Yes include Ontario

[@BenMonares]

@@julianmagana69SNA isn’t part of LA, it’s in OC

[@douglas260395]

I had the opportunity work at Oakland airport with ups and southwest, small airpot but still busy with Soutwest and fedex, great experience , now I work for United and is awesome to work at SFO

[@Speedster___]

What exactly do you?

[@PaClark-v7c]

Great

[@mholtebeck]

Pre-pandemic OAK was a base for Norwegian and some other LCC's to Europe. When international traffic starts up- OAK will get LCC's again.

[@TheRebelOfWot]

Can you do a comparison on south Florida’s international airport? Palm beach(PBI), Fort Lauderdale(FLL), and Miami(MIA)

[@nicodavinci1938]

Yeah that’s a good one.

[@nikosmanganiotis3519]

Bruh is your profile the Tri Rail train

[@triple7marc]

I work at SJC. Terminal A, where I work, was built in 1990. It is quite dated but still has its charm. Terminal B was built in 2010 and is just your standard modern airport architecture. Terminal B was essentially built by Southwest and Alaska, and those are really the only airlines that occupy it. It's often very busy and has a very wide array of shops and restaurants. Terminal A serves every other airline and is always completely dead. SJC just opened a brand new economy parking garage/lot which is the cheapest place to park your car long-term ($15 per day). There's also this weird hallway that juts out of the south end of Terminal B with several temporary gates. SJC is very clean and not hectic at all. It's a great airport and often overshadowed by SFO. Also, much of it is in Santa Clara, not San Jose.

[@sushants.3023]

I feel like the reason for that is the number of airlines that go to SJ. I usually prefer SJ in terms of domestic travel, but many people want to go to only 1 airport instead of switching between the 2 for their flights. But yes, SJC is such a great airport!

[@bayareaaviation17]

I'm from the Bay Area and I have used all three! They are all awesome airports and I hope all three see major expansion projects like new facilities and airline! You did a great job!!

[@Lee247Jamaica]

Can you do one in LA Between LAX,Burbank and John Wayne airport idk of this counts but Ontario airport as well as Long Beach airport too LA area has way to much airports,also for Tokyo with Narita and Haneda airport

[@TedS-hp6lk]

MANY years ago I was scheduled to go from Dallas to San Jose. This was before DFW was built, so Dallas still meant Love Field. There were no direct flights from DAL to SJC. The ticket (prepaid) that was sent to me was: DAL -> SFO (AA) SFO -> OAK (SFO Helicopters still existed) OAK -> SJC (Air West, I believe) That was fun!

[@jesusrodriguez2198]

A curious fact is that Guadalajara in Mexico is serviced directly from the 3 airports (SFO, OAK, and SJC). I don't know if there is another international destination that is serviced from the 3 airports too.

[@ChicagoGeographer]

Wow interesting

[@pumpkin79]

Please do more of these!!! I love these!

[@jasonly4434]

Flown out of all 3, but I prefer SFO or SJC since I live almost equidistant from both. I have a slight preference for SJC since there seem to be less congestion or weather-related delays than SFO.

[@ti12870]

I’ve flown in & out of SFO & SJC. In 2 days, I will fly into OAK for the first time. Doing nearly 50 years of air travel, OAK will be my 100th airport I’ve been to.

[@michaelcrossley5661]

I like OAK. Sit on the drivers side if you can, you will get a good view of SF. Especially if you leave out of OAK.

[@Rv12_pilot]

As a Bay Area pilot this really informative and I love it. You should do a video comparing all of the smaller airports lol.

[@jakeherb45]

Watching this from a layover at the San Jose airport lol Great vid!

[@ChicagoGeographer]

Nice lol, thank you!

[@AK-ug1md]

Great video !!! I was born and raised in the east bay (Oakland). So funny I am flying out of Vegas (LAS) headed home to Oakland (OAK).

[@ddelony1]

Growing up in the East Bay, my family mainly flew out of OAK. SFO was mainly for transcontinental flights, international flights, and airlines that didn't serve OAK.

[@shadow-xo8sf]

Loved the video ! Thank you for doing a video on the bay area!

[@javianjohnson8746]

SFO is such a beautiful airport in terms of geography (from the flight videos I've seen on KZbin). Definitely would love to take a flight over there some day

[@Sovereign_Citizen_LEO]

Even San Jose is really amazing in Spring, when you fly in from the Santa Cruz Mountains corridor or the Hwy 101 Corridor from places like Hawaii/ the Pacific Ocean over the Santa Cruz Mountains. But the one flight I remember most was a Delta Flight from Salt Lake City in 2003, coming in over the Santa Cruz Mountains (a sort of sweeping turn) and up into the Silicon Valley. It was a bright sunny Blue/ Green morning (with the Mountains and Redwood forests below). I was kind of amazed because I had flown in to SJC several times (usually from Southern California) and it was never anything I really took notice of until that day.

[@FlyersAviation]

San Diego Int'l Airport is technically the only airport serving San Diego however it would be nice if you can cover that airport as well as the McClellan-Palomar Airport in Carlsbad as well as Tijuana Int'l Airport that is 30 miles south of Downtown San Diego. Great video and looking forward to the next one!!!

[@JuJu7700]

Excellent work my friend. I am a native Oaklander. My parents were from Chicago!

[@calebragan3804]

I live in the Bay area and have been to all of them, San Francisco is busy only during the middle of the day, San Jose is the nicest airport, and I use Oakland as flying only in the state.

[@chrisd3933]

Do LA next! 5 airports to talk about in the greater LA Metro Area!

[@ohioweatherguy]

I'm curious if SJC officials are planning on creating a people mover connection between the future Santa Clara BART station and the airport terminals? I ask because that extension of BART to Santa Clara is on the west side of the airport while the terminals are on the east side. I suppose they can run shuttle buses back and forth but it's not quite as convenient as perhaps an underground 1 mile long people mover. It's too bad the terminals are on the east rather than the west side.

[@joshk9055]

Just found these airport comparison videos and they’re exactly the kind of stuff I’m into lol

[@algon1985]

I would be interested to see your comparison on South Florida airports. With MIA, FLL, and even PBI offering domestic and international service, there's quite a bit of history and future expansions happening at all three airports. You could even consider Key West airport if you wanted to.

[@arandomdudeontheinternet5792]

You should do a video about the 3 main airports in LA, LAX International (LAX) in Los Angeles CA, John Wayne Airport (SNA) in Santa Ana CA, and Hollywood-Burbank (BUR) in Burbank CA. You could even add a 4th in Ontario International (ONT) in Ontario CA.

[@MedianaDhea]

if you live in Fremont or Newark, is very easy to access all the 3 airports

[@peachy-tay]

have flown out of all 3, very cool video!

[@patrickkelly2394]

Although not super close together I would love to see a comparison between SeaTac and Portland international as there are the biggest airports in the Pacific Northwest

[@TheHistoryPilgrim]

Can you do a comparison video about the three Boston area airports, Boston Logan, Manchester Boston regional, and providence Airport.

[@saginator5000]

You should cover the cargo operations more.

[@Jeemmmm]

can you do a osaka airport comparrison( kansai int, itami airport and maybe kobe airport) thanks really enjoyed this video

[@piplotfs]

I live in the bay area and fly from ALL of these airports all the time, so I like all of them

[@Warriorcats64]

You gotta do Houston's next. Intercontinental and Hobby are quite different.

[@gteixeira]

SJC is very practical, the walk from the terminal to the sidewalk is really short. It is just a shame that there is no rail station at the airport, but there is a bus shuttle from the airport to the light rail.

[@michaelcrossley5661]

Yup, but Uber and Lyft are pretty easy out of SJC.

[@gteixeira]

@@michaelcrossley5661 Yep, I end up using it. For me usually goes for around 6 or 7 USD, before the pandemic. But for some people it can be much more, depending on the destination. And I heard that now Uber will charge around 20 USD for the same trip.

[@michaelcrossley5661]

@@gteixeira oh yeah, I used to pay $35-40, my last ride from the airport costed $70 plus $13 tip.

[@gteixeira]

@@michaelcrossley5661 Yeah. I used to travel mostly when I was a student so these costs add up. Nowadays I can afford riding a Uber or renting a car in the destination, but them the paperwork for me to travel got much worse 😅

[@stevenh.230]

You left out SMF north of Sacramento. I grew up in Solano County it about the same drive time to Oakland or Sacramento. SMF is mostly better because it is in the middle of nowhere so it’s easier to get in and out of.

[@proyounggamer3643]

thsi is what I have been waiting for lets GO

[@michaelcrossley5661]

I fly out of all three regularly. I prefer OAK because I can take BART right up to the terminal.

[@alias4526]

do a LAX vs BUR vs SNA vs LGB

[@iancypes5911]

Plus ONT. If they want to extend the metro there, its probably an LA Airport

[@alias4526]

@@iancypes5911 true

[@Jeemmmm]

can you do a brisbane airport comparrison( Brisbabe int, Gold Coast Int and maybe Sunshine coast int airport) thanks really enjoyed this video

[@miangel02]

Can you do a comparison of MIA, FLL and PBI

[@jwil4286]

can you do Seattle next? SEA vs PAE

[@dominicklmaviation8350]

It will be alsome to due SJU vs BQN vs PSE.

[@kevingreene1514]

"Alaskan" ...*eye starts twitching* Alaska. Not Alaskan. Really shouldn't bother me as much as it does, but here we are.

[@vdubproductions2646]

As someone who has travelled out of 2 of the 3 airports (have not flown out of SJC yet), I found this video interesting.

[@iancarisi8342]

One major factor specifically for SJC is the counties BS closure of RHV. This will push tenants to: SJC - GA unwanted. HWD - expanding to accommodate tenants from RHV. You really need to appreciate the role of airports like HWD. And E16 - way far and to the contrary of the county, tenants don't want to move there.

[@CK-ms1bu]

Might be a long shot but does anyone know which NYC airport has a really modern and nice Panda express?

[@maxharrymanuel2045]

Hi! Great Video, Would love to see - Orlando MCO vs Orlando SFB vs Orlando MLB or Miami MIA vs Fort Lauderdale FLL vs West Palm PBI.

[@matthewfinkel3210]

Great Vid! Could you do MIA,FLL, and PBI!

[@CrystalClearWith8BE]

Oakland International Airport is planning to get a name change into San Francisco Bay-Oakland International Airport. For me, I don't think it's a good idea. Also, the name change voting will happen on April 11. Will it be a yes or no? Only time will tell.

[@w4terb0ttl3]

i’m just saying oakland and sj have flights all over the world. i was in heathrow and saw a flight going to oakland, although i don’t know if that was direct

[@Glacifly]

@@adamshaheedh both BA and Norwegian had flights to London for some time… before both axing services, sometime in 2017(8?9?). BA found Service unprofitable, and Norwegian moved services to SFO.

[@therollsroycetrent9947]

I really wish #AlaskaAirlines was the dominant carrier at #SFO

[@henryhahn9741]

Do the LA airports next

[@PhearaXT]

Why’s SFO airport in San Mateo county? Why don’t they build international airport inside San Francisco county?

[@codman481]

How could you overlook the Asiana Flight 214 crash at SFO???

[@nicodavinci1938]

You should do Miami International Airport and Fort Lauderdale/ Hollywood airport con Florida.

[@shape816]

I like these. How about BOS PVD MHT?

[@PaClark-v7c]

I love this information

[@ellishageorge3789]

Can you pls do a comparison of MIA, FLL, and PBI

[@mirabovs215]

You should do, the Houston airports! I hope it can happen!

[@ayaowzaa]

Wait doesn’t Oakland fly to London Gatwick with Norwegian airlines? I thought I’d see that airline at 5:32

[@Glacifly]

They moved their ops to SFO prior to pandemic and shutdown.

[@Lee247Jamaica]

Yay another one of these vids

[@connorh3421]

Suggestion: MIA, FLL, PBI (South Florida)

[@CiaGuy]

surprised not to see a mention of the asiana airlines crash at sfo

[@sunglassdubsteps5268]

Please do comparison between Pacific Northwest's international airports. Portland (PDX), Seattle-Tacoma (SEA), and Vancouver (YVR)

[@jakewatson2660]

No one is interested in that

[@sunglassdubsteps5268]

@@jakewatson2660 You are little too late to comment bruh. I commented 1 year ago when he did airport comparisons more often.

[@Thevegafamlights]

Can you plss do Denver international and Colorado Springs 😫

[@munchy9745]

Do Phoenix and Tucson in Arizona

[@SoKeefeForever]

So cool i love it

[@charliezard7997]

Can You Do Paris Le Bourget LBG Paris Orly ORY And Paris Charles De Gaulle CDG

[@CPTR111]

Been to SFO and SJC but not OAK. Both of those two were good and serve a purpose!

[@Sovereign_Citizen_LEO]

Great video, but the Greater Bay Area's urban population is closer to 10 Million, and just behind Chicago (where my entire family is from and arguably the largest percentage of the Bay Area Population at least until the 1980s or 1990s [Chicago and the Midwest]. SFO used to be the 6th Busiest Airport in the Nation and 21st busiest in the Nation. KSJC used to have direct non-stop flights to Paris, London, Tokyo, Beijing, Frankfurt, Shanghai, and a couple other destinations in Europe and Asia. But COVID-19 and a lack of profitability killed many of these flights. My Godfather was "Shop Foreman" of the United Airlines Maintenance Base at SFO for 30 years (Welding, Mechanical, Machine Shop, Tool and Die Shop, Engine shop), which was then and still is, the largest UAL MRO in the world) until 1991 when he retired and moved to Tennesee. His entire career was with one company (rare nowadays). He got us discounted tickets on United to Chicago in 1975 (on one of the first DC-10s) to visit my Grandparents who lived in Homewood, Ill on Dixie Hwy (if you know where that is lol :) I was 6 years old at the time. Anyway, I love your video (and the YT algorithm came through again -after watching CA HSR construction videos/ Transbay Transit Center videos). www.unitedtechops.com/

[@piperpilotbutter]

We need a MIA vs FLL sometime

[@TPCIO2]

Do IAH and HOU

[@Kameroncrazie23]

Do YVR/SEA/PDX or Everett/SeaTac/BLI

[@williamerazo3921]

The approaches are scary

[@ryanosullivan1946]

LAX vs SNA vs ONT pls

[@CrystalClearWith8BE]

SFO represents the San Francisco Peninsula, OAK represents East Bay, while SJC represents Silicon Valley.

[@imagine-1a]

The most known at SFO is Flight 214 since it actually happened there instead of somewhere else

[@markdwighttadina7655]

SFO is the main passenger SJC complements both OAK and SFO Oakland is more like a Cargo hub

[@stephenm103]

SFO on time arrival percentage is pretty bad owing to the combination of weather, congestion, FAA separations and the crossing arrival and departure runway(s). Lifelong bay area resident - used to fly on my dad's employee passes out of SFO as a kid. If I have a choice and if the pricing is the same, I'll choose KOAK of KSFO any time. The drive into downtown SF from KOAK (if that is your destination) is similar in terms of drive time BUT the approach across the Bay Bridge is gorgeous whereas the drive up 101 into downtown is . . . . . boring and nothing to write home about. If you are staying in the Silicon Valley or anywhere in the south bay (Santa Clara, Mountain View, San Jose, Milpitas or Palo Alto) SJC is the way to go.

[@PaulMorrison-m2c]

Garcia Brenda Robinson Ruth Clark George

[@LMays-cu2hp]

Very nice.

[@LMays-cu2hp]

I have flown to all three airports in my career.

[@timothycook2917]

Suffice to say, those chickens were not chicken at all to be the first to land @ SJC

[@ATIMELINEOFAVIATION]

flown to all three live close to SJC

[@starlinemasteryt230]

At San Francisco airport the flight aisiana 214 crashed

[@azocs_]

Can you do a video with the Houston Airport? I would really enjoy it :)

[@alexanderbrik6162]

among big misses now are Miami area airports

[@birdie8271]

can you do london heathrow, london luton, london soutend, london city, london gatwick, london stansted. I will be quick

[@MackCervera-i3p]

Lee Michelle Jones Ruth Miller Scott

[@leftisland2603]

I wish there was a high speed boat shuttle between SFO and OAK.

[@michaelcrossley5661]

Yeah, so you can fly into SFO and take the ferry to OAK to rent a car. SFO has been charging twice as much lately.

[@carultch]

@@michaelcrossley5661 You can get between the two of them on BART.

[@michaelcrossley5661]

@@carultch I know, I took bart back from sfo on Tuesday and it took longer than the plane ride (2 hours). OAK is 40 minutes for me.

[@michaelcrossley5661]

@@carultch shoot, I thought I was replying to a different comment. I flew out of FAT and American was delayed coming back and missed my connection flight back to fat. Had to fly to sfo, rent a car for $200, drive to Fresno, get a hotel and drive back for my meeting in the morning. Rentals at sfo for 5 hours were $200 and OAK were $115. But the last thing I wanted to do was add a 1 hour train ride to the excursion. 😫

[@carultch]

@@michaelcrossley5661 Land is much more expensive on the San Francisco side of the bay. The rental car companies have a higher cost to pay for their position at SFO, than at OAK.

[@camerone397]

I think you could do a pretty decent Joe Swanson voice from Family Guy, for what it's worth

[@philis05]

PBI/FLL/MIA