America Airlines to end Oakland service

America Airlines to end Oakland service American Airlines said Monday that rising fuel prices have forced the carrier to pull the plug on its operations at Oakland International Airport.
   The carrier plans to cease flights out of Oakland International on Sept. 3, ending more than six decades of operation at the Bay Area facility.
   American Airlines, which runs three flights to Texas daily, carries about 1.5 percent of Oakland International's annual passenger traffic, about 216,000 passengers last year.
   Officials from the Port of Oakland, which oversees the airport, are hopeful that other carrier already servicing Oakland, such as Continental and Southwest, may help offset the loss. Southwest, according to the port, is set to kick off an Oakland-to-Austin route this weekend.
   Dedicated by Charles Lindbergh in 1927, Oakland Airport served the burgeoning civilian aviation industry until being converted to military use during World War II. In 1947, American became one of the first airlines to return to the airport after the facilities were returned to civilian use after the war.