San Francisco, California is a hilly city on the peninsula surrounded by the Pacific Ocean and the San Francisco Bay. The city is the major cultural, commercial and financial center of Northern California and comes second to New York City as the most densely populated city in the United States. San Francisco is known for the iconic Golden Gate Bridge, it’s charming cable car system, and colorful Victorian houses. San Francisco is one of the 100 most visited cities in the world and is a popular place for conventions due to its innovative hotel infrastructure. The California Gold Rush turned San Francisco into the main banking center of the West Coast in the early Twentieth Century. That legacy lives on today as many financial institutions have their headquarters located here and helps the city to rank in 10th place among the top financial centers of the world.
The surrounding counties are included in what is known as the “San Francisco Bay Area” and have many of their own attractions, booming economies, and busy airports. The main airport serving the San Francisco area is the San Francisco International Airport. It is located just 13 miles south of downtown and is the second busiest airport in the state after LAX. It is described as the gateway to the Pacific because it is a major airport used to travel to Asian destinations. The second largest airport in the area is Oakland International Airport located in Oakland county just 5 miles south of downtown Oakland. This airport is known for timely arrivals and departures and is sometimes preferred over SFO for this reason. The third largest airport is San Jose International Airport located three miles of downtown San Jose.
A bit further away from San Francisco’s city center but still within the Bay Area are Napa County Regional Airport and Hayward Executive Airport. Napa County Airport is located in the heart of Napa Valley, home to over 450 wineries making some of the world’s best bottles of Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Pinot noir, Merlot, and many others. The Napa airport has 122,000 flights take off or land at the facility annually and is a one-hour drive from San Francisco. The most popular Airport in the Bay Area for general aviation, including private chartered jets and business jets is Hayward Executive Airport. 99.8% of its operations come from general aviation with no commercial airlines flying out of it. The vibrant airport is home to over 400 aircraft and boasts the fact that is provides over 300 jobs and $300 million in annual economic benefits to the community. Hayward Airport does what it can to reduce air traffic and make flying with them convenient for local business travelers and residents.
