Willow Glen Resident
News
Residents can voice their choice by completing an airport survey
By Eli Segall
Every day 360 commercial aircraft lift off the runways of Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport, carrying some 30,000 passengers into the hazy San Jose skies.
The problem, airport officials say, is that once the planes leave, they go to only a few cities. Faced with limited destination choices, San Jose residents often book flights from Oakland or San Francisco international Airports, which offer more destination choices. Airlines, meanwhile, cite Mineta's stagnant customer base as a reason for not expanding routes, officials say.
But help may be on the way. Mineta launched a survey this month at www.fly sanjose.com asking airport users where they want to fly both domestically and internationally. Survey results will be shopped to airline executives to show that San Jose residents want more routes, which it is hoped will encourage the establishment of more flights, said airport spokesman Rich Dressler.
"If you want more nonstop flights from San Jose, let us know," said a recent newspaper ad by the airport announcing the survey. "We'll make sure the airlines get the message."
As of June 20, more than 2,800 surveys were completed, Dressler said. The top international spots chosen were London and Tokyo, and the most popular domestic sites were New York, Maui and Washington, D.C.
Some residents are eagerly waiting for these flights.
"They used to have direct flights to Maui, but that stopped four or five years ago; now you have to go through Honolulu," Gene Kuhns said outside Starbucks in San Jose.
The Kuhnses and other residents voiced strong support for expanded service out of San Jose; Mineta is close to home and convenient to use, they said. However, persuading airlines to fly more routes may prove difficult, according to airport officials.
"We have to fight an aviation industry perception that San Jose is not a destination for travelers, especially tourists," San Jose aviation director Bill Sherry wrote in a recent opinion article in Silicon Valley Community Newspapers.
Mineta currently has 26 nonstop domestic and three nonstop international routes, all of which go to Mexico. Planes leaving San Francisco, on the other hand, fly to 25 different countries.
In 2001, during the dot-com boom, Mineta offered daily nonstop flights to Tokyo, Taipei, Paris and Mexico, Dressler said. Most have been eliminated. Domestic flights have also been slashed.
In total, Mineta's annual passenger volume dropped from 14.1 million in 2000 to 10.9 million last year, according to airport figures.
The online survey is available through Sept. 30 at www.flysanjose.com.
