oakland Travel Guide
7/24/2007 at 12:32 PM
Tags: US Airways, Airline Hell, Baggage Check (all tags)
On the rental car shuttle from Oakland International Airport, in the small hours today, we ran into a US Air passenger with one of the worst airline hell stories ever.
Seems his luggage, pictured above, was mangled, half devoured, attacked by sharks, when it arrived on the baggage carousel in OAK. US Air, agreed to pay for the passenger to get a new bag and for the clothes the airline lost or ate. Furthermore, they told him to just "bring in the receipt", which we told him meant go get yourself a new suit. Hey, he deserved it.
The kicker? This passenger had a second bag which, yep, you guessed it, never arrived. US Air assured him they would speedily find the lost baggage and send it to his hotel, mangled or not.
US Air did not say how long it would take for them to process the reimbursement for his new luggage and attire.
Another FUBAR luggage photo here.
MORE...
by markj
7/10/2007 at 9:16 PM
Tags: Airport Security, OAK (all tags)
A man slipped past security guards and through an exit at Oakland International Airport earlier today, causing long lines of waiting passengers outside the terminal while authorities searched for the man.
Both terminals were reopened after authorities decided the man posed no threat. However, flights in and out of Oakland have been delayed for most of the day.
Anyone know what this guys deal was? Let us know in comments.
Here is a web round up on today's trouble at the OAK corrale:
· TSA: No Security Breach In Oakland [NewsNet5]
· Oakland Airport reopened after security mishap [SFGate.com]
· Oakland airport intruder forces security delays [LA Times]
· Security Breach Shuts Down Oakland [Oakland Tribune]
· Passenger Screening Resumed [flyoakland]
by markj
10/09/2006 at 3:08 PM
Tags: Cafes, Coffee Shops (all tags)
Piedmont Avenue is a strip on the border of Oakland and suburb Piedmont (i.e. a safe area) that has a couple of blocks of shops, some restaurants and three big coffee houses. Two of them are chains--Starbucks and Peet's--but the third is the one worth checking out.
Gaylord's Caffe Espresso has been brewing up coffee drinks and ice cream since 1976, way before espresso became cool. Today the place is the anti-corporate america coffee shop that cares about its coffee drinks. The place has tons of personality from its alternative-looking yet happy employees to the artworks by local artists hung on the walls (and for sale) to the Pac-man table game.
There's also wireless internet access available for a $1 per hour fee. With that, you get a wifi code but one of the store employees said they never change the code and the system only ends up charging you once. So feasibly, until they change the code (which could be once a month) you have unlimited WiFi for a buck.
As with most espresso shops, you can get pretty much any drink your heart desires along with regular coffee too and some food. Plus, you'll feel much cooler having gone to Gaylord's than Starbucks across the street.
Insider Tip: Order your iced drinks with Gaylord's Coffee Cubes. They are essentially ice cubes made out of coffee so that as your iced drink starts to melt, it gets diluted with coffee instead of water. Take that, Starbucks!
by juliana
6/20/2006 at 9:43 AM
Tags: Airport Hell (all tags)
The Oakland Airport is under construction as evidenced by this very recent picture of the baggage claim in the Southwest terminal.
The airport is about halfway through its $300 million Terminal Improvement Program which, when completed in 2008, will offer greater "security, comfort and convenience" for airline passengers.
The thing is, Southwest's brand new terminal was announced as completed already but we did not see any brand new baggage carousels, nor any 8 foot-by-21 foot video walls featuring finished works by Bay Area artists. Instead, we saw exposed wires and pipes, and had a feeling that tickle in our throat was asbestos seeping into our lungs.
Oh yeah, and on one of the hottest days of the year in the Bay Area, the terminal has no air conditioning. Not so much with the finished terminals over there, we'd say.
by juliana
