Oakland Airport

❎ Unverified | I arrived at Oakland via Norwegian Air from London Gatwick. We were asked to remain in the airplane for an additional 45 mins due after landing to the delays in immigration. When we were finally allowed to deplane we then had an additional hour wait in the queue at immigration. Immigration itself does not make sense, one waits in line to go through the process at the machine and then waits another hour to have an individual stamp the passport. There were 3 officers tending to US citizens and another 3 to tend to non US passports. They need to employ more immigration officials! Oakland is trying to become another hub for SF, but cannot seem to get it right. We landed at 4.15 and received baggage at 6.30! An inefficient process to say the least.

✅ Verified Review | Immigration on foreign flights is one of the worst in the whole US, and I have seen lots. Typically, there are 2-5 immigration officers trying to get through a dreamliner with 200+ passengers. Twice, I had to wait 30 mins+ on the airplane, because another plane landed ahead of us, and immigration wanted to process them first. 2-3 hour waits are not unheard of. Please, just employ more immigration officers - what is wrong with Oakland?

The absolute worst baggage claim ever. I travel a lot and try to use San Jose and SFO before OAK. Does the airport oversee this and if so why would you not have a management team that would address this? We are at 20 minutes and no sign of bags on a direct from Denver. Extremely poor service.

I fly often and like the location of Oakland Airport. Unfortunately the baggage service on inbound fights is horrible. Almost always 20 plus minutes. Today 2/14/16. Inbound flight 2457 from Spokane. Over 30 minutes and there were no other inboards in claim area. Someone needs to get the staff to work a little harder or most of us will drive to Sacramento or San Jose and be home quicker. Does the airport or airlines care?

Oakland Airport is as convenient to San Francisco as SFO, especially now that the BART connector is open. There are good public bus connections too. The consolidated car rental facility is out of the way, but it isn't as bad as the one at LAS. OAK is much smaller and faster to use than SFO, so it is my preferred airport in the Bay Area. T1 and T2 are connected behind security, and both terminals have a spacious seating layout and plenty of restrooms. Security screening speed is variable but faster than SFO. Food options are limited, so it may be necessary to walk form T1 to T2 or vice versa to find something appetizing. There are interesting exhibits to peruse if stuck waiting for a delayed flight. Wi-Fi is free and tolerable, but there is a 45-minute time limit.

Worst layout I have seen. Rental car area is 20 minutes away. Airport is crowded, dirty and loud. I fly a lot and #1 worst is SFO but OAK is a very close second.

My wife and I have traveled internationally twice a year for the last 25 years. Then there are all the side trips in USA. Oakland is close and convenient to fly in and out of. However, no airport on earth takes as long to get your checked luggage from the plane to the baggage carousels. It has been like this for decades. We always sit in the back of the plane, therefore always the last ones off. Stop in terminal for a restroom break, then head down to baggage claim. The plane has already been at the gate for 15 minutes. This is not the biggest airport. When you arrive at baggage claim, you have a choice of 3 baggage carousels (Terminal 2, Southwest). None of the three carousel signs have your flight number on it. You stand in the crowd of people all looking from carousel to carousel to see if your flight number has shown up yet. Some flights can be 1/2 hour before your baggage hits the carousel after your flight arrives. No wonder everyone is jamming oversized carry ons into the airplane luggage bins.

Overall a pleasant experience. Terminal 2 is for Southwest and Terminal 1 is everyone else. Lines are as expected. Concessions are typical airport fare. Duty free did not appear to be a bargain and I will be thrilled when the AirBART bus is replaced by a rail connection to the BART station. Will definitely use again.

Don't stay over night in Oakland! We found a comfortable place to stay on a 6 hour over-night layover then security cleared the entire terminal. Everyone was forced to stay in an uncomfortable waiting area and go through security again. Not pleasant! Seems to be a routine thing. Poor customer service in my opinion.

Although older and with a more limited selection of flights than nearby SFO it is a decent airport and fare (on Southwest) from Ontario to Oakland was far less than into SFO. We used it just for one arrival so did not use check-in facilities restaurants etc. It did take some time for baggage to arrive at the carousel but whether this is normal we don't know. Information on transportation into San Francisco was a bit confusing. Getting to BART requires first taking a shuttle bus for $3 (?) per person. We ended up finding a shuttle bus into SF for about $45 for two people.