Examining Southwest Airlines’ Top 5 Internal Routes From Oakland By Seat Availability

San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport, formerly known as Oakland International Airport
, is one of several airports in the Bay Area with commercial service. Because of its location across the bay from San Francisco, it does not have much service, especially not international. Southwest Airlines
dominates the airport, with nearly five times as many flights as the second-busiest airline.

According to data from Cirium, an aviation analytics firm, Southwest has more than 5,300 roundtrip flights in November. Most of these flights are short, primarily on the west coast and the southwest United States (US). The airline’s seat offering is just over 840,000.

1

Harry Reid International Airport

84,383 seats

The busiest route from Oakland is to Harry Reid International Airport
(LAS). Data shows there are 264 flights scheduled from Oakland to Vegas and another 264 on the way back. There are 84,383 seats available on the city pair.

Photo: Harry Reid International Airport

In November 2003, Southwest connected OAK and LAS and had more flights than 2024. According to Cirium, there were 539 flights scheduled in 2003. At the time, Southwest operated smaller aircraft and its seat offering was less than it is now, with 73,063 seats.

Southwest has the largest market share on this route but faces competition from Spirit Airlines. Spirit has up to four daily roundtrips in November, averaging 176 seats per departure. There are 224 total flights and 39,424 flights.

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2

San Diego International Airport

79,777 seats

The route to San Diego International Airport
(SAN) is the second-busiest and barely behind Las Vegas. There are 527 flights between the two cities in November, 264 to San Diego and 263 in the opposite direction. The seat offering for this route is just under 80,000, 79,777.

Photo: EQRoy | Shutterstock

In 2003, Southwest’s operation to San Diego was significantly more than it is today. Data shows there were 867 flights scheduled that month, up to sixteen daily roundtrips. The airline had an average of 133.1 seats per departure, totaling 115,359 seats.

Like Las Vegas, Spirit is also Southwest’s only competitor to San Diego, offering one daily flight for most of the month. The ultra-low-cost carrier deploys its Airbus A320s and A320neos to San Diego. In November, there are 66 Spirit flights scheduled and 11,616 seats available.

3

Hollywood Burbank Airport

69,498

The next three routes on this list are to Los Angeles area airports, starting with Hollywood Burbank Airport
(BUR). Located just north of Los Angeles, this airport offers easy access to Hollywood and Burbank, as well as surrounding areas like the San Fernando Valley, Glendale, and more. Southwest has 486 roundtrip flights, 243 in each direction, totaling 69,498 seats.

Photo: Hollywood Burbank Airport 

Like in 2024, Burbank was Southwest’s third-busiest route from Oakland in 2003. That year, the airline had up to fourteen daily roundtrips and was capable of carrying more than 3,700 people. In total there were 791 flights and 105,007 seats available.

4

Los Angeles International Airport

65,232

Next up is Los Angeles International Airport
(LAX), one of the busiest in the US and home to a significant portion of Southwest’s operations. In November, Southwest has 200 flights in each direction. Deploying all of its Boeing 737 variants, the airline has 65,232 seats available.

Photo: Bradley Caslin | Shutterstock

In 2003, Southwest’s number one route from Oakland was to LAX and the difference between LAX and its second-busiest route was significant. There were 1,174 flights between OAK and LAX that November, up to 22 daily roundtrips. This totaled 158,048 seats.

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Today, Southwest faces competition from Spirit, but in 2003, it faced competition from United Airlines. Southwest dominated the market share 21 years ago, but United had a significant operation. Data shows United had six daily roundtrips, which included operations from SkyWest Airlines and Mesa Airlines. In 2003, United had 357 flights and 28,680 seats available.

5

John Wayne Airport

55,770 seats

Rounding out the top five is the flight to John Wayne Airport (SNA) in Orange County. Also located near Los Angeles, SNA is perfect for those visiting places like Disneyland or the beaches near the airport, like Newport Beach, Huntington Beach, and more. There are 390 roundtrip flights scheduled in November, totaling 55,770 seats.

Photo: Philip Pilosian | Shutterstock

Southwest’s operations to SNA in 2003 were similar to the level they are at now. That year, the airline had up to eight daily roundtrips to the Orange County airport. Data shows there were 447 flights scheduled and 58,689 seats available on the city pair.

In 2003, only two airlines operated flights between Oakland and John Wayne, Southwest and Alaska Airlines. There were 713 total flights between the two airports in November 2003, 266 of which were operated by Alaska Airlines. Back then, the airline used its Boeing 737-700s and 737-400s for its operations, which reached five daily roundtrips.