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Our precious 49ers may not be in the Super Bowl, but we still expect our city to show up and show out for the big game on Sunday.

Yes, but: Expect to spend more on booze and other party foods.

What's happening: Nationally, the price of food items falling under the "meat, fish and eggs" and "fruits and veggies" categories were both up 8% year-over-year as of December 2022. 

The cost of many Super Bowl party staples in the San Francisco metropolitan area has been steadily rising over the last few years, per the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) data.

Why it matters: As San Franciscans gear up for Sunday's Kansas City Chiefs-Philadelphia Eagles matchup, their bank accounts are about to get sacked.

Details: We zoomed in on a handful of food categories commonly found at Super Bowl parties, such as meat and alcohol.

By the numbers: In San Francisco, food staples like meat, fish and eggs were up 8% year-over-year, as of December 2022.

The cost of fruits and vegetables increased by 7%.

Alcoholic drinks rose 9%, while non-alcoholic beverages rose 12%. 

Yes, but: Wingheads can breathe a sigh of relief.

The price of whole chicken wings was $2.65 nationally as of early January, down from $3.38 per pound during last year's Super Bowl, per U.S. Department of Agriculture data.

Wings were outrageously expensive last year, but prices are coming back down thanks to increased supply, per Money.

Of note: Throwing a Super Bowl party is still probably far cheaper than actually going to the game.

The cheapest tickets were going for $4,000 on Ticketmaster as of Wednesday morning.

The big picture: This is another, more focused way to look at the broader grocery price inflation crisis — which, as Axios has previously reported, has left some families struggling to put enough food on the table.

Super Bowl parties in San Francisco are getting more expensive

Expect to spend more on booze and other party foods.

Super Bowl

Change in price of food in various categories, February 2019 to present

Our precious 49ers may not be in the Super Bowl, but we still expect our city to show up and show out for the big game on Sunday.<ul><li>Yes, but: Expect to spend more on booze and other party foods.</li></ul>What&#x27;s happening: Nationally, the price of food items falling under the &quot;meat, fish and eggs&quot; and &quot;fruits and veggies&quot; categories were both up 8% year-over-year as of December 2022. <ul><li>The cost of many Super Bowl party staples in the San Francisco metropolitan area has been steadily rising over the last few years, per the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) data.</li></ul>Why it matters: As San Franciscans gear up for Sunday&#x27;s Kansas City Chiefs-Philadelphia Eagles <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="matchup" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2023/02/07/arizona-super-bowl-phoenix-glendale-1996-2008-2015" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2023/02/07/arizona-super-bowl-phoenix-glendale-1996-2008-2015" target="_self">matchup</a>, their bank accounts are about to get sacked.Details: We zoomed in on a handful of food categories commonly found at Super Bowl parties, such as meat and alcohol.By the numbers: In San Francisco, food staples like meat, fish and eggs were up 8% year-over-year, as of December 2022.<ul><li>The cost of fruits and vegetables increased by 7%.</li><li>Alcoholic drinks rose 9%, while non-alcoholic beverages rose 12%. </li></ul>Yes, but: Wingheads can breathe a sigh of relief.<ul><li>The price of whole chicken wings was $2.65 nationally as of early January, down from $3.38 per pound during last year&#x27;s Super Bowl, per U.S. Department of Agriculture data.</li><li>Wings were outrageously expensive last year, but prices are coming back down thanks to <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="increased supply" data-vars-click-url="https://money.com/chicken-wing-prices-2023-super-bowl/" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://money.com/chicken-wing-prices-2023-super-bowl/" target="_blank">increased supply</a>, per Money.</li></ul>Of note: Throwing a Super Bowl party is still probably<a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text=" far cheaper" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/philadelphia/2023/01/31/super-bowl-lvii-ticket-prices-expensive" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/philadelphia/2023/01/31/super-bowl-lvii-ticket-prices-expensive" target="_self"> far cheaper</a> than actually going to the game.<ul><li>The cheapest tickets were going for $4,000 on <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Ticketmaster" data-vars-click-url="https://www.ticketmaster.com/super-bowl-lvii-glendale-arizona-02-12-2023/event/19005D489E7F23C1" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.ticketmaster.com/super-bowl-lvii-glendale-arizona-02-12-2023/event/19005D489E7F23C1" target="_blank">Ticketmaster</a> as of Wednesday morning.</li></ul>The big picture: This is another, more focused way to look at the broader grocery price inflation crisis — which, as Axios<a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text=" has previously reported" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2023/01/30/food-prices-inflation" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2023/01/30/food-prices-inflation" target="_self"> has previously reported</a>, has left some families struggling to put enough food on the table.

Food and Drink

Things to Do

New software that warns air traffic controllers if an inbound aircraft may be lining up to land on a taxiway rather than a runway has been installed at San Francisco International Airport, the Federal Aviation Administration tells Axios.

Why it matters: Landing on a taxiway — essentially roads for aircraft that connect runways with terminals — can be a major safety hazard.

There were 1,641 so-called "wrong surface events" between October 2016 and the end of last year, the FAA says — though the vast majority (83%) involved general aviation aircraft, not commercial planes.

Context: There have been a handful of notable taxiway landings by commercial pilots in the last couple of decades.

In 2006, a Continental Airlines 757 landed on a taxiway at Newark Liberty International Airport.

In 2009, a Delta Air Lines 767 did the same at Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

And in 2015, an Alaska Airlines 737 landed on a taxiway at Seattle-Tacoma.

None of those incidents resulted in injuries. Yet taxiways aren't built to be landing surfaces for heavy jets, and they're often dotted with aircraft about to depart.

To that point: In 2017, an Air Canada A320 nearly landed on a taxiway at San Francisco International Airport where four other planes were waiting to take off.

How it works: The new software, called ASDE-X Taxiway Arrival Prediction (ATAP), uses radar and other sensors to automatically tell if a plane appears to be lining up to land on a taxiway.

In such an event, the software alerts controllers to the potential problem. They can then communicate the issue to the incoming pilots.

Details: ATAP has "helped prevent more than 50 wrong-surface taxiway landings since its first implementation at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in 2018," the FAA said in a news release.

It's been installed at 43 airports nationwide.

There have been eight ATAP alerts so far this year.

Be smart: Runways have unique visual indicators — such as numbers, aiming points and the "piano key" threshold markings — and they're lit differently than taxiways at night.

Yet taxiways often run parallel to runways, and pilots — especially those unfamiliar with their destination airport — can sometimes mistake the two.

Of note: One notable pilot who once accidentally landed on a taxiway? Harrison Ford.

Yes, but: None of the most recent headline-grabbing aviation safety incidents had to do with wrong-surface landings.

Safer landings at San Francisco International Airport

New software that warns air traffic controllers if an inbound aircraft may be lining up to land on a taxiway rather than a runway has been installed.

A Southwest Airlines plane lands at San Francisco International AIrport in 2022. Photo: Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Airports

New software that warns air traffic controllers if an inbound aircraft may be lining up to land on a taxiway rather than a runway has been installed at San Francisco International Airport, the Federal Aviation Administration tells Axios.Why it matters: Landing on a taxiway — essentially roads for aircraft that connect runways with terminals — can be a major safety hazard.

News

About 86% of domestic flights from San Francisco International Airport (SFO) departed on time in November 2022, according to the latest Bureau of Transportation Statistics data.

That's compared to the national rate of 81%.

The big picture: At the national level, airlines performed admirably throughout the fall of 2022, with on-time departure rates at or above 80% from September to November.

That's up significantly from last summer, when staff shortages and foul weather combined to muck up the complex, interconnected web that is the air travel system.

Zoom in: Across the cities with Axios Local newsrooms, the Washington, D.C., area's Dulles International Airport had the best on-time performance in November 2022, at 88%.

SFO, with its high passenger satisfaction score, ranked sixth at 86%. 

Denver — where brutal storms tend to snarl wintertime operations — had the lowest, at 76%.

Yes, but: This dataset doesn't include last December's meltdown at Southwest Airlines, which led to thousands of cancellations and delays for that particular carrier nationwide. 

Expect those delays to show up in the next data release, where they'll almost assuredly drag down the systemwide numbers.

"Let me be clear: We messed up," Southwest Airlines COO Andrew Watterson said during congressional testimony last week. "In hindsight, we did not have enough winter operational resilience."

Be smart: Because airlines' systems and routes are so interconnected, problems at one airport or in one region tend to cascade across the country.

Foul weather in, say, Chicago can mean delays in Houston because planes get stuck and can't make their next planned leg.

Between the lines: If you do get stuck at SFO, be on the lookout for the Wag Brigade, the "unicorns of therapy animals."

The bottom line: On-time performance tends to dip in the summer (thanks to thunderstorms and the vacation rush) and winter (due to blizzards and holiday crowds), and improve in the spring and fall.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to remove a reference to the number of cities with Axios Local newsrooms.

SFO's on-time departure rate surpasses national average

About 86% of domestic flights from SFO departed on time in November 2022.

Air travel

Chart shows SFO's 86% on-time departure rate compared to an 81% departure rate nationwide.

About 86% of domestic flights from San Francisco International Airport (SFO) departed on time in November 2022, according to the latest Bureau of Transportation Statistics data.<ul><li>That&#x27;s compared to the national rate of 81%.</li></ul>

Data: GasBuddy; Note: Price as of the 1st of each month; Chart: Axios Visuals

The San Francisco Bay Area saw some of the country's highest average gas prices, at $4.76 per gallon in February, per GasBuddy data.

What's happening: While that cost is down 3% year over year, it's up 5% from January.

Of note: Taxes, regulations and snags with local refining operations can sometimes lead to higher prices across California.

Zoom out: Nationally, gas cost about $3.40 a gallon in February — down 6% year over year, but up 2% from January.

Why it matters: More than three-quarters of Americans commute to and from work, meaning they're particularly sensitive to the ebbs and flows of prices at the pump — especially as other basic goods also get more expensive.

Gas prices are also a political football, rightfully so or not.

When they're high, many Americans tend to blame whoever's sitting in the Oval Office — even though, as Axios' Andrew Freedman has reported, they lack significant control over the cost of commodities priced on global markets, oil included.

Driving the news: Oil prices spiked last year amid uncertainty over Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the economic sanctions against Russia — a major oil producer — that followed.

While the fighting drags on, oil markets have largely stabilized, as CNN reports.

Reality check: As Axios' Joann Muller recently found, charging up an EV isn't always significantly cheaper than filling a tank with gasoline — especially on road trips.

San Francisco Bay Area gas prices among nation's highest

The Bay Area paid average gas prices of $4.76 per gallon in February.

Gas prices

The San Francisco Bay Area saw some of the country&#x27;s highest average gas prices, at $4.76 per gallon in February, <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="per GasBuddy data" data-vars-click-url="https://fuelinsights.gasbuddy.com/" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://fuelinsights.gasbuddy.com/" target="_blank">per GasBuddy data</a>.What&#x27;s happening: While that cost is down 3% year over year, it&#x27;s up 5% from January.

Alex Fitzpatrick

Featured stories

Safer landings at San Francisco International Airport

San Francisco Bay Area gas prices among nation's highest

SFO's on-time departure rate surpasses national average

Super Bowl parties in San Francisco are getting more expensive