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SFO was a slow go for travelers in January
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Inclement weather was a big factor in determining SFO’s poor performance this winter.
S.F. AIRPORT (Map, News) - As passengers and downpours flooded San Francisco International Airport in January, the busiest hub in the Bay Area sank to the bottom of the nation for ushering travelers to their destination on time.
SFO was the worst airport among major hubs for on-time performance for arriving flights in January and second-worst for departures, according to a federal report released this week.
SFO was last in arrivals and better than only Chicago O’Hare International Airport for departures among the nation’s 32 largest airports.
SFO spokesman Mike McCarron blamed the poor arrival statistics on the unusually bad weather three months ago.
“It was probably the wettest January we’ve had in 10 years,” McCarron said.
SFO’s on-time performance has dipped significantly in the last year. Both departure and arrival delays have gone up at SFO during eight of the last nine months compared to the previous year, according to the federal report.
While airports around the nation have had increases in delays, SFO’s on-time performance has dipped more steadily since May than other airports, according the bureau.
During inclement conditions, SFO scales down to one runway, halving the number of hourly flights that can use the airport from 60 to 30, McCarron said.
But analysts fear SFO’s on-time performance will continue to decline as more airlines start service and increase flights.
“My concern is that it’s probably going to get worse,” said Henry Harteveldt, aviation analyst with Forrester Research. “We’re facing the perennial problem that the runway design at SFO dates from the pre-jet era and is not adequate for today’s operations.”
The increased number of carriers at SFO lowers rates but leads to jumps in delays, he said.
But the airport has a few plans to help offset growth at the airport, which has jumped from about 950 to 980 flights per day over last year, McCarron said. SFO is considering raising airline landing fees during peak hours to encourage carriers to spread out their trips, he said.
Comments from Examiner Readers
10:53 PM MST on Mon., Jul. 28, 2008 re: "It saves to fly out of San Francisco"
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1:11 PM MST on Fri., Jul. 25, 2008
re: "It saves to fly out of San Francisco"
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12:49 PM MST on Fri., Jul. 25, 2008
re: "It saves to fly out of San Francisco"
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10:01 AM MST on Mon., May. 26, 2008
re: "Passengers are not happy with SFO"
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8:37 AM MST on Mon., May. 26, 2008
re: "Passengers are not happy with SFO"
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12:58 PM MST on Wed., Apr. 30, 2008
re: "Virgin takes off while competitors lay low"
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11:38 AM MST on Mon., Apr. 21, 2008
re: "Lawsuit talk buzzing about airport noise"
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5:26 PM MST on Thu., Apr. 10, 2008
re: "Bay Area reacts to rescheduling"
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7:03 PM MST on Fri., Dec. 21, 2007
re: "2 flights grounded at SFO"
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1:00 PM MST on Fri., Dec. 21, 2007
re: "2 American Airlines flights grounded at SFO"
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Examiner Reader said:
I agree, Southwest aircraft, besides the Boeing 737-700, are pretty beat up and ghetto. Flying Virgin is the only way to go, clean new Airbus Aircraft, freindly staff, and tons of entertainment onboard. I only wish they flew to other destnations out of San Diego.
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Wai Yip Tung said:
Of course they do fly to New York.
2 agree | 2 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
But the low cost carriers out of SFO do not fly to places like Chicago, New York, or do they?
3 agree | 4 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
truly poor vender selection,food services extremely limited.... one only needs to travel outside of the U.S. to make a comparison ie zurich, heathrow vender food serivice quite varied... services in sfo are sooo predictably bland off the shelf vendors and services... ray okamoto frequent flyer
10 agree | 11 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
I read this in the printed copy. It shows Philli coming in first. No wonder the managers at SFO are taking shots at the study. Not like SFO would be a jewel by the sea... but Philli?
9 agree | 10 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
I find Virgin America a bunch of fun to fly!
11 agree | 10 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Go for it! The noise over Montara and Moss Beach has become unbearable on some days. And the claim that the airport cares and calls back is BS. I have called them on really bad days and not once have they had the courtesy to return a call and discuss the issues. They deserve what is coming for them.
10 agree | 11 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Once again the genius of the marketplace has brought us the current state of u.s. airlines. I suspect many of us flyers would be willing to pay a bit more not to be left waiting at the gate.
10 agree | 10 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
southwest is super ghetto with the lack of seat assignments, while it's lax it is not efficient and planes look beat up and in poor shape
72 agree | 84 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Southwest....is the only way to go!
92 agree | 97 disagree
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