Southwest to Fly Nonstop from Oakland to Mexico

July 13, 2016

At a press conference at OAK July 13,, Southwest Airlines Co. announced that they filed application with the U. S. Department of Transportation to offer nonstop service daily between Oakland International Airport and both San Jose del Cabo/Los Cabos & Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, beginning in February subject to governmental approvals. Once approved, the carrier’s flight schedule and fares will be published on Southwest.com.

“Linking the East and North Bay to these Mexican beach resort areas with time-saving itineraries brings our customers low-fare and high-value service that traffic patterns show is already important in their lives,” said Leah Koontz, Southwest Vice President of Finance & Controller, in announcing the proposed flights among gathered guests and media near the carrier’s Oakland Ticket Counter. “We’re adding nonstop service that extends the reach of Oakland’s convenient and easy airport experience to bring two of the top-ranking international destinations that currently don’t have a nonstop option.”

“Los Cabos, in particular, is the most requested international destination from the East Bay that does not have a nonstop option and Puerto Vallarta is also very popular with Bay Area travelers,” said Bryant L. Francis, C.M., Port of Oakland director of aviation. “Southwest’s continual investment, especially in new medium-haul and long-haul flights in the past two years, has made Oakland International the fastest growing California airport on a percentage basis and brings our customers unprecedented value and reliability.”

At the airport, work is well underway on the next phase of the Terminal One renovation including an all new security checkpoint and international check-in and arrivals area. Scheduled completion of the project is the second quarter of 2017. The Port is also undertaking work to modernize and expand the airport’s passenger federal inspection station for U.S. Customs & Border Protection services which is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2017. The combined effect of the two projects will be a fresh, contemporary terminal experience for the airport’s rapidly increasing number of international passengers.