Volaris adding two more international flights at SJC!

SJC is about to get two more nonstop routes to Mexico. Volaris is launching flights to Morelia and Zacatecas. Service to Morelia starts on December 15th with flights leaving at 1:54pm and arriving at 7:46pm. The return flight leaves Morelia at 9:59am and arrives at SJC at 12:24pm. This route was previously served by Mexicana.

Service to Zacatecas starts on December 18th, with the flight leaving SJC at 1:33pm and arriving at 6:59pm. The return flight leaves at 10:05am and arrives back home at 12:03pm. This is a brand new route for San Jose.

Both routes will use an Airbus 319 or Airbus 320.

These two will respectively be San Jose's 10th and 11th nonstop international routes. Here is the full list by continent:

• Asia
• Tokyo
• Beijing
• Shanghai
• Europe
• London
• Frankfurt
• North America
• Vancouver
• Guadalajara (served by three different airlines)
• Cabo San Lucas
• Mexico City
• Morelia
• Zacatecas

We are yet again surpassing the all-time high for international destinations from San Jose, and there are more to come.

Source: SVBJ (subscription required)

As an aside, here are a few photos of the new international baggage area and welcome lounge. F2 is the second baggage carousel. On my last trip it took exactly 15 minutes to get from the plane, through customs, get my suitcase, and be out the door. This has to be the most efficient customs processing center in the country.

Saturday Stats: SJC is the 4th fastest growing airport in terms of international travel

We went from a couple to nine international routes in what seems like no time at all. Based on international passengers, San Jose had the 4th fastest growing airport in the country between 2012 and 2016.

I would actually argue that we led the country in international growth. Reno, Austin, and Columbus were the top three and all of them had almost 0 international travel in 2012. When you take a number close to 0 and add anything to it, you are going to get a very large percentage. San Jose went from 84,000 international passengers in 2012 to 330,400 in 2016. That growth of quarter million passengers is not only far more than any other airport on the top 10, but it is greater than the rest of the top 5 combined.

SJC also had more passengers in 2012 than any other airport on the list--the larger you are the more difficult it is to grow. This makes the growth SJC has shown even more impressive.

Source: SVBJ (requires subscription)

International Passengers

Aeromexico adding direct flights from SJC to Mexico City

SJC is now one of the fastest growing airports in the country when it comes to international travel (see second image below). Aeromexico already has a nonstop to Guadalajara and starting next June it will have a new nonstop to Mexico City. The flight will leave Mexico City at 9:35am and arrive in San Jose at 11am our time (three and a half hour flight, two hour time difference) and the return flight from San Jose to Mexico City is scheduled for 1:40pm. The last time San Jose had this route was a decade ago.

Mexico City will be San Jose's 9th international route (Tokyo, Beijing, Shanghai, London, Frankfurt, Vancouver, Guadalajara, and Cabo San Lucas are the others). This is an all-time high for international destinations from San Jose, and I have a feeling the number is going to become a lot higher in the near future.

Source: SVBJ

Southwest is adding more flights at SJC

Southwest Airlines recently announced 25% increase in San Jose departures and a 50% increase in nonstop destinations by Spring. This will help keep Alaska Airlines at bay, who have also been steadily increasing their San Jose flights.

The new daily nonstops include Orlando, St. Louis, Houston's Hobby Airport, Spokane, and Boise. Southwest is also adding Sunday-only flights to New Orleans and Albuquerque. The new flights begin May 6th except for Orlando, which starts on April 8th. If those weren't enough new flights for you, on March 10th they are also launching their first international flight--San Jose to Cabo San Lucas (Alaska Airlines is the only other carrier with a direct flight to Cabo from SJC).

Southwest will be increasing the frequency of their Phoenix, Portland, Seattle, Chicago, and Dallas flights as well. After all of the changes, the airline will have 80 new flights each week and feature a total of 24 nonstop destinations.

Source: SVBJ

SJC's International Arrivals lounge opens Thursday

San Jose International is getting quite a bit of recognition lately. Not only is it the fastest growing major airport in the country, it was just recognized as the "best-run" international airport in the US. This Thursday SJC will get their latest improvement, a respectable area for international arrivals.

I have gone through customs at SJC twice now, and both times it has taken less than 20 minutes to get from the plane, through customs, through baggage claim, and grab a ride outside. Try doing that in any other airport in the country. The only problem is that the area looked a bit, well, janky. When leaving, you are basically dumped outside in a miscellaneous spot between Terminals A and B. Also, there is no indoor place for family and friends to wait for you.

That is going to change this week when a $8.2 million International Arrivals lounge opens up. The 5,600 SQFT space will provide a more pleasant experience for international visitors as well as those waiting to welcome them. Designed by Gensler, the area has seating, restrooms, vending machines, and a second baggage carousel for international flights. It may not sound like much, but it will be a huge improvement. Combined with the insanely fast processing time, SJC is continuing to up their game and I hope it results in more passengers and flights.

Source: SVBJ

Aeromexico coming to SJC

San Jose International just nabbed another international airline! Aeromexico is adding direct flights between SJC and Guadalajara in Mexico beginning on July 1st. There will be six flights each week, all using a Boeing 737.

This is a very popular route since Guadalajara is the tech hub of Mexico as well as its second largest city. Unfortunately, this is a route that is already served by both Volaris and Alaska Airlines. I was really hoping for some new routes such as a nonstop to Puerto Vallarta, Cancun, or Mexico City. At least it is the start of what can be a great relationship between Aeromexico and SJC.

Source: SVBJ, Thanks to Josh Russell for sending this in!

SJC grew faster than any other airport last year

We may not have a very large airport, but I would argue it is one of the best in the country. San Jose International is convenient to get in and out of, the central Silicon Valley location is great, it's clean, security moves fast, and staff seems way friendlier than most airports. Thanks to all of the new international and domestic routes SJC nabbed, it has also become the fastest growing airport in terms of passenger count in the country (among the 50 largest airports). SJC grew passenger volume by a whopping 10.2% in 2016!

Delta was the top contributor of additional flights, followed by Alaska and Southwest. SJC is now up to 10.8 million passengers a year, adding one million new passengers last year in its fourth straight year of growth. The increased traffic means hundreds of million of dollars injected into the economy, more tax dollars, and the likelihood of even more international and domestic routes.

2017 already has some many new flights scheduled. JetBlue is adding four flights to Long Beach, United is adding two flights to Chicago O-Hare and one to Newark, Alaska is adding a Newark route of its own and three flights to Burbank, Delta is adding two more flights to Atlanta, Southwest will be adding a new Reno flight, and Air Canada will be adding a third nonstop to Vancouver. The SVBJ also mentions two new gates being added to Terminal B, but I can't find any additional details. I'm assuming they are annexing the two "international" gates between Terminal A and B, but would be thrilled if this is part of a 6-gate expansion originally slated for the very end of Terminal B.

Source: SVBJ

Jimmy Kimmel SJC Shout-Out

This isn't big news, but is pretty cool nonetheless. A celebrity tweeted out a great compliment about SJC. I have to agree, we have one of the best airports in the US when it comes to convenience and customer service.

Source: SJEconomy Newsletter

JetSuiteX launching twice daily service from SJC to Burbank

The week would not feel right without at least one post about a new SJC route. Currently JetSuiteX's only San Jose route is to Bozeman, Montana. If you have never heard of JetSuiteX before, there is good reason--the airline does not fly out of Terminal A or Terminal B. They fly out of the private aviation terminal on the other side of the airport. That means fewer security hassles and going from the door to the plane in as little time as possible.

They just announced that they will by flying from SJC to Burbank twice per day, typically once in the morning and once in the afternoon. Tickets range from $129 one way for a ticket bought more than a week in advance to $199-$249 less than a week. The plane is an Embraer 135s with just 30 seats (10 rows of 3 seats). It's as close as you can get to flying private without spending thousands of dollars each way.

Source: SVBJ

United and JetBlue add more flights at SJC

This is becoming an ongoing theme. San Jose International continues to attract more and more flights, something which I find very well deserved. Beside the obvious location advantages, it is one of the best operated airports I have ever been to. Flights are rarely delayed, it is surprisingly fast to get to the gate, baggage comes quickly, even the TSA seems friendlier than other airports.

Finally the word is getting out--passenger traffic is up 9% at SJC in the first six months of 2016 and both United and JetBlue are adding more flights and routes. United is taking a page from Alaska's book and will fly directly from San Jose to Newark in March. That is not only the exact same time-frame as the new Alaska Airlines flight to New York, but the flight will leave and return at the exact same time (6:30am departure from SJC, arriving at EWR at 2:55pm, return flight leaves EWR at 4:05pm and arrives at SJC at 7:40pm). I was suspicious that this is the same flight as Alaska Airlines co-listed as United, but that does not seem to be the case. United is also adding a twice-daily nonstop from San Jose to Chicago O'Hare.

JetBlue is launching a nonstop between San Jose and Long Beach starting January 4th, 2017. The best part is that the route will be flown not once, not twice, but four times each day. This addition means that San Jose now has direct flights to all five LA airports (LAX, Burbank, Orange County, and Ontario are the others). JetBlue is promoting the flight with rates as low as $39 each way.

Sources: Forbes (thanks Josh Russell for sending this in), SVBJ

SJC upgrading its "International Terminal"

Yes, I realize this is a second post about SJC this week. The airport is on a roll with adding new flights, especially international flights that bring millions of tax dollars, convenience, and recognition to our city. San Jose went from having two international routes a few years ago to eight (Guadalajara, Cabo San Lucas, Tokyo, Beijing, London, Frankfurt, Vancouver, and Shanghai). The airport is doing so well, it's time to expand the international facilities.

Despite flying out of SJC 100 times, I didn't get to got to fly internationally out of San Jose until a few weeks ago. My wife an I took a vacation to Barcelona and got to utilize the direct flight on British Airways from San Jose to London. It was an exceptional experience, far better than flying internationally through SFO or Oakland. On the way back, I finally got to go through San Jose's customs facility. I have gone through customs/immigration dozens of times, and have never had a better experience than San Jose. Even though we were sitting in economy, we were able to go from the plane, through customs/passport control, get suitcases, and be outside waiting for our ride within 15 minutes (!). If you fly a lot, you know this is pretty much impossible... not in San Jose.

The "International Terminal" is somewhere between Terminal A and Terminal B. On a return flight after going through customs, it spits you out in a place I never even knew existed in the airport that feels like it's from the 80s. This is the area currently being upgraded. The 5,600 SQFT project includes a second baggage carousel, an indoor waiting area for family and friends to welcome your arrival, a snack area, comfortable seating, and new restrooms.

The project will cost a total of $8.2 million (coming from unspent bond proceeds) and should be completed Spring 2017.

Source: ETN Global Travel Industry News

SJC gets nonstop service to New York metro

Finally, after all the amazing international additions at San Jose International Airport we are landing some new domestic routes. The most requested domestic route at SJC is between San Jose and New York. Currently we only have a red-eye flight (an overnight flight) to New York on JetBlue, and it's not even a daily flight. Now Alaska Airlines is stepping up to the plate and launching San Jose's first nonstop service to the New York area in quite some time.

The new flight will begin March 12, 2017 and uses a Boeing 737. It will depart seven days a week at 6:30am and arrive at Newark at 2:55pm. The return flight will depart Newark at 4:05pm, arriving back in San Jose at 7:40pm. Tickets will be available for purchase starting July 25th. The flight will be very convenient for both business and leisure travelers. I'll take an early flight over a red-eye any day of the week.

Alaska is also adding service from SJC to Burbank starting on March 17, 2017. Thank you Alaska Airlines for investing in San Jose!

UPDATE: Removed "first ever" based on comments below that American and Continental previously had nonstop service to New York.

Source: SVBJ

British Airways: London vs. San Jose

As a clever promo for the new direct flight between San Jose and London, British Airways has made a video where San Jose and London face off. It is definitely worth watching and is only a few minutes long. The flight launched on May 4th and will utilize a cutting edge Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner plane.

Source: SJ Economy News

Signature Flight Support's SJC Terminal Nears Completion

The new 10,000 SQFT terminal for corporate and private aviation at San Jose International looks just about ready based on Viki Thompson's photos in the SVBJ. The building has everything an executive could want in a facility. There is a kitchen stocked with snacks, conference rooms, co-working spaces, free magazines, and best of all there are no TSA security hassles to slow you down. You can be in one door and out the other in no time at all.

The project cost $82 million and also includes 250,000 SQFT of hangar space. About 150,000 SQFT of that space was supposed to house private planes for Google executives; however, now that they have control over Moffett Federal Airfield they will be subleasing the whole facility. This will provide a nice opportunity for larger tech companies in Silicon Valley that own a fleet of planes. Signature Flight Support already has 14 leases for the new hangar space, representing the full amount originally earmarked for Google. They expect to be fully leased within a matter of months.

As for the city of San Jose, the new facility will bring in $2.64 million each year in rent payments. There will also be some branding benefits for San Jose. For example, both the NFC and AFC champions will be flying into San Jose for the Super Bowl, and you can guess where the planes will go.

Source: SVBJ

Lufthansa is Coming to San Jose!

When it rains it pours! SJC has landed another major international flight, this time to Frankfurt, Germany. Lufthansa is the largest European Airline and Frankfurt is their largest hub. Not only will this give San Joseans easy access to Germany, but every major city in Europe. This is the third international route San Jose has landed in 2015!

Luftansa will fly five nonstops each week on an Airbus A340-300 carrying 298 seats. Flights to Frankfurt will leave San Jose on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturday, and Sundays. The flights depart at 3:20pm and arrive at 11:35am the next day. Tickets will start around $977 round-trip and flights start on 4/29/2016--beating British Airways to market by a week.

This will become San Jose's 6th international route (Guadalajara, Cabo San Lucas, Tokyo, Beijing, and London are the others). There are rumors that a nonstop flight to Seoul, Korea will be next. 

In 2016, San Jose will surpass Oakland International Airport in terms of international countries served and will have more international routes than at any other point in SJC's history.

Sources: SVBJ, The Merc

British Airways is Coming to San Jose!!!

In what can only be described as a monumental win for SJC and the city of San Jose, British Airways announced that in 2016 they will begin a nonstop flight between San Jose and London. This will be San Jose's 5th international route (Guadalajara, Cabo San Lucas, Tokyo, and Beijing are the others). It may very well be the most important route that SJC has ever landed as London is the #1 requested international destination in Silicon Valley.

“We are thrilled to see British Airways provide direct service out of Mineta SJC Airport to London,” San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce President & CEO Matthew Mahood said. "This is a great opportunity for both business and personal travelers to experience the benefits of flying directly out of Silicon Valley’s airport – Mineta SJC International."  

The flight will feature a state-of-the-art Boeing 787-900, which is 20 feet longer than the 787-800 pictured below. The plane will be the first in San Jose International's history to have four classes of service: 8 First Class "cabins," 42 Business Class seats, 39 Premium Economy, and 127 Economy seats. Those who have flown on British Airways can attest that even the cheapest seats are pretty nice compared to typical American planes, and this will be the very best plane in the British Airways fleet.

This new route will give San Joseans easy access to far more than just London. The flight will land in Terminal 5, allowing in-terminal connections to 130 destinations in Europe, Africa, and Asia. I can only imagine the amount of momentum this will give our airport going forward.

The first flight will land in San Jose on May 4th, 2016 at 6:05pm and depart to London at 8pm. It is expecting to be highly utilized by both business and leisure travelers. I know I'll be on one of those flights next year!

Source: SVBJ

Menchie's Frozen Yogurt Opened First Airport Location at SJC

Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt has opened its first ever airport location at San Jose International Airport (SJC). They are known for a wide variety of rotating flavors and toppings. It is a self-service yogurt shop where you can load up on as many different kinds of yogurt and toppings as you'd like and then pay based on the weight at the end. Their Bay Area locations seem to be well reviewed on Yelp, and I'm pretty happy about finally having a Yogurt shop at SJC.

Menchie's is located in Terminal B near Gate 19 and will be open daily from 5:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. If you are not travelling any time soon, there is also another location in San Jose at Oakridge mall.

VTA Proposing Increased Service in New Two Year Plan

VTA has been holding public meetings to review proposed changes to transit services, and there are quite a few items on the list that would impact San Jose residents. The two new lines that really caught my eye are Line 11 and Line 56.

Line 11 would directly link the Airport with Downtown San Jose! It runs from Diridon Station, past the Convention Center, down 1st Street, then onto Highway 87 and does a full loop of SJC hitting both terminals (see the map below). Needless to say, Line 11 would be extremely convenient for Downtown residents and visitors alike. The line would run every 30 minutes from 5am to 11pm, seven days a week. Service will hopefully begin in October of this year.

Line 56 runs between the Component Lightrail Station in North San Jose and the Sunnyvale Caltrain Station (via Arques/Scott/Central Expressway). This would improve access and transit options for all of the companies in the Golden Triangle, including the burgeoning Renovation Row area.

For all of the details, head over to this VTA page.

 

Two Boeing 747s at SJC

If you have heard that San Jose International is too small to support Boeing 747s (or 777s for that matter), that information is completely false. There were two of them at the airport last week. The military charters 747s out of SJC twice a year, and in the cases of extremely bad weather at SFO they are sometimes rerouted to the airport as well.

However, just because SJC supports these planes doesn't mean we necessarily want them. They generate a lot more noise than smaller planes, especially the fancy new 787s that are being used for international flights to Tokyo and soon Beijing.

Source: The Merc, photo by LiPo Ching

China's Hainan Airlines is Coming to SJC!!!

This has been a long time coming. San Jose International Airport has finally landed another key route! China's Hainan Airlines is going to launch nonstop flights to Beijing this summer. Hainan is one of China's premium airlines (perhaps the best), with an excellent reputation and a five-star ranking. They are very similar in terms of prestige to ANA, San Jose's other international airline servicing Asia. This will be the very first time San Jose has had a direct flight to China.

The only other airports in the US that are serviced by Hainan Airlines are Seattle, Chicago, and Boston. For the San Jose route, Hainan will be flying a fancy Boeing 787 Dreamliner with 5 flights per week.

These international routes offer a huge boost to the airport, the local economy, and our brand. Hopefully, the combination of ANA and Hainan will attract even more international carriers to the airport. I would love to see some direct flights to Europe, Australia, and South America at some point in my lifetime. Which international destination do you think we'll get next?

Source: SVBJ