Budget Car Rental

For a city the size of San Jose, this is a pathetic airport. I cannot remember the last time I had to leave anything bigger than a commuter jet down a set of roller stairs. After going through the dingy, crowded terminal, I had to wait a half-hour for my bags, while everyone was packed tight around the tiny baggage carousel. Next, the rental car shuttles don't come nearly often enough, and when they do arrive, they are bunched together. The rental car counters are understaffed, the lots are crowded and hard to navigate, and to leave the airport, you must drive through a maze of roads, including the morass of traffic up next to the terminal. When leaving, the gate areas in the ""old"" terminal are crammed, and once you get through security, there are NO services. If you need to go to the Bay Area, fly SFO instead. more

Yes, SJC is one of the ugliest airports in the country, but convenient if you're doing business in Silicon Valley. Alaska Airlines is stuck in the old (physically separate) terminal that was built in the 1960s. The new terminal, built during the 1990s, has a mud-brown color scheme and is claustophobia-inducing, and maze-like. It's already too small and too crowded to handle the number of people who travel to and from San Jose. Compared to the brand-new airports in Portland, Oregon or Cincinnati, it's stone-age. But if you don't need to go to SF, it saves you an hour of taxi or airport-shuttle time. The only reason I use SJC? It's a 15-minute drive from my parents' house. Pros: close to SJ Cons: , ugly, maze-like more

I flew on Alaska Airlines to San Jose from Seattle, and couldn't believe how ugly the airport was. I had to walk down steps, then walk in this dark, low ceilings where is smelled like old carpet and mold. San Jose is the third largest city and the tech capital of the world, I expected more from the airport. The facility is a dump and I hope that they totally redo the whole airport very soon. This remodel should have been completed 10 years ago! Pros: Convenient, Cheap compared to SFO, uncrowded Cons: ugly, old, embarassing for SJ more