Wanderlust World Wanderlust World Northern California is one of America's most frequented regions, and a number of airports provide service to the region. Visitors can fly into San Francisco International and its highly ranked facilities or take advantage of Oakland International's high-reliability arrival and departure times. Still others avoid the Bay Area and fly into Sacramento.
San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is the largest airport in Northern California, and the second largest in the state after Los Angeles (LAX). It is the 10th most-frequented in the United States thanks to it being one of United Airlines major hubs and the operations base for Virgin Airways.
The airport opened in 1927 on 100 acres of cow pasture and has been expanding since; the most recent major project was a billion-dollar international terminal that opened in 2000. The airport is the home of an aviation museum as well as a series of art exhibitions every season.
San Francisco International Airport
PO Box 8097
San Francisco, CA 94128-8097
(800) 435-9736
flysfo.com
Oakland International Airport, also known as Metropolitan Oakland and OAK, is located five miles south of central Oakland. The airport's primary airline is Southwest. Other airlines with major operations include Alaska Airlines and JetBlue Airways. Though it has fewer routes and daily flights than San Francisco International Airport, Oakland offers high reliability: Among the 40 largest American airports, Oakland is ranked Number 1 in terms of on-time arrivals, according to flyoakland.com.
Oakland International Airport
1 Airport Drive
Oakland, CA 94621
(510) 563-3300
oaklandairport.com
Sacramento International Airport is located 12 miles northwest of Sacramento's central business district. Southwest is the major carrier operating out of Sacramento; the airline accounts for nearly half of all flights. In 1998, the airport was given the moniker of an "international airport" in anticipation of cross-border flights to Mexico; the first flight to Guadalajara took place in 2002. Other Sacramento International Airport carriers include American Airlines, Continental Airlines, Horizon Air, United Airlines and US Airways.
Sacramento International Airport
6900 Airport Boulevard
Sacramento, CA 95837
(916) 929-5411
sacairports.org/int/