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[edit] San Francisco International Airport (SFO)
SFO is the major international airport for the San Francisco Bay Area, and much of the rest of northern California. It has excellent non-stop connectivity to both Europe and Asia, in addition to excellent US domestic connections. California is 8 hours (by timezone, not flight time) away from the UK/Ireland to the east and also 8 hours (again, by timezone, not flight time) away from Hong Kong/Singapore to the west.
SFO is also a United Airlines (UA) hub airport. It is an important UA hub for trans-Pacific traffic (along with ORD), as well as for western regional traffic. Many UA travelers who live closer to San Jose (SJC) airport choose to fly out of SFO, as there are usually more alternative UA flights available if one's UA flight is delayed or cancelled. Other airports in the same metro area include San Jose (SJC) and Oakland (OAK). Domestic fares are often cheaper at Oakland, due to a strong presence by low-cost carrier Southwest Airlines there.
[edit] Long-Term Terminal Re-Alignment
SFO has a long-term plan to realign domestic airlines by airline grouping. Concrete dates have not been announced yet.
This plan reportedly has 3 primary changes:
- Terminal 2 is now being refurbished, with American Airlines (AA) as the intended new tenant.
- After this happens, SFO plans to move Continental Airlines (CO) and US Airways (US) to Terminal 3, Concourse E.
- At the same time as the CO/US move to Terminal 3, Midwest will move to Terminal 1, Concourse B.
[edit] Airline Alliances
[edit] Star Alliance
Star Alliance airline United Airlines (UA) has an official hub at San Francisco International Airport (SFO). Several other Star Alliance carriers also operate at SFO, both for domestic and international flights.
[edit] UA Airport Map
[edit] UA Check-in
- There are separate check-in facilities for domestic flights versus international flights.
- Each check-in facility has separate queues and counters for Star Alliance elite members, Business Class, and First Class passengers.
- Easy Check-In machines are present in Concourse F, but are NOT present in Concourse G.
- In late November 2009, UA moved the Premier domestic check-in area. It is now on the edge of Concourse F (closest to Concourse G, not E).
[edit] Terminals/Concourses
- Most Star Alliance international flights use Concourse G of the International Terminal.
- Air Canada flights operate from Concourse E in Terminal 3.
- Air New Zealand flights leave from Concourse G in the International Terminal.
- All Nippon Airlines (NH) flights leave from Concourse G in the International Terminal.
- Continental Airlines (CO) flights leave from Concourse B in Terminal 1.
- Lufthansa (LH) flights leave from Concourse G in the International Terminal.
- Singapore Airlines (SQ) flights operate from Concourse G in the International Terminal.
- United Airlines (UA) domestic (and Canada) flights use Concourse F, Terminal 3.
- United Airlines (UA) international flights (except Canada) leave out of Concourse G in the International Terminal.
- US Airways (US) flights leave from Concourse B in Terminal 1.
[edit] Lounges
- Continental Airlines has a Presidents Club in Terminal 1, Concourse B.
- United Airlines has 2 Red Carpet Clubs. Both are also Star Alliance Gold lounges. One is located in Terminal 3, Concourse F for US domestic flights, and the other is in the International Terminal, Concourse G.
- United Airlines also has an International First Class Lounge located in Concourse G between gates 98 and 100. Access to the UA International First Class Lounge is for first-class passengers on an international (excluding Canada) itinerary, and also for first-class passengers flying p.s. to New York.
- Singapore Airlines has a Silver Kris lounge in Concourse G that is also a Star Alliance Gold lounge.
[edit] One World
- American Airlines (AA) operates domestic flights from Terminal 3, Concourse E.
- There are plans for AA to eventually relocate to a refurbished Terminal 2, but this is not likely to happen during 2010.
- British Airways, Cathay Pacific, and Japan Airlines use the International Terminal, Concourse A.
[edit] Lounges
- American Airlines has an 'Admirals Club" in Terminal 3, Concourse E, near Gate 62. This is also a One World lounge.
- British Airways (BA) have a lounge in the International Terminal, Concourse A, between Gates 4 and 6, on the 3rd floor. This is also a One World lounge.
- Cathay Pacific (CX) does NOT have its own lounge at SFO, and refers its passengers to the BA lounge.
- Japan Airlines has a Sakura Lounge in the International Terminal, Concourse A, 4th floor. This is also a One World lounge.
[edit] Sky Team
- Delta Airlines operates domestic flights from Terminal 1, Concourse C.
- Most Sky Team international flights operate from Concourse A in the International Terminal.
[edit] Lounges
- Air France has a lounge in the International Terminal, Concourse A.
- Delta Airlines has a domestic Sky Club lounge in Concourse B, near Gate 22.
- Delta Airlines has an international Sky Club lounge in Concourse A, after TSA Security.
- KLM Royal Dutch Airlines has a lounge in the International Terminal, Concourse A.
[edit] Other Airlines
- China Airlines operates from the International Terminal, Concourse A, and has a Dynasty Lounge there.
- EVA Airways operates from the International Terminal, Concourse A, and has an Evergreen Lounge there.
- Phillipine Airlines operates from the International Terminal, Concourse A, and has a Mabuhay Lounge there.
- Virgin Atlantic operate from the International Terminal, Concourse A, and have a Virgin Clubhouse there.
[edit] Ground Transportation
[edit] Airport Tram
SFO has a no-cost automated airport tram system (using rubber wheels on a concrete path) that connects the on-airport parking garages, the several terminal concourses, and also runs out to the north with stops at W. Field Road and terminating at the Rental Car Center.
The G concourse stop for the airport tram is directly connected to the SFO Airport BART (subway/underground) station. Trams come by every 5-10 minutes during most of the day.
NOTE WELL: The tram system is outside the TSA "Secure Area". If one is connecting from a UA domestic flight in Concourse F to an international departure from Concourse G, it is best to use the walkway that directly connects those two concourses together. This walkway remains inside the TSA Secure Area, so one can thereby avoid delays due to TSA re-screening.
[edit] Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART)
The BART system is a heavy-rail subway/underground railway system. It has good connectivity from SFO north to San Francisco and then across the bay to Berkeley, Oakland, and various locations along the east side of San Francisco Bay terminating in Fremont at the south east corner of the San Francisco Bay, Pittsburgh/Bay Point in the northeast, and Richmond in the north. There are proposals to extend BART south from Fremont to Milpitas (the city just north of San Jose), but that is unlikely to happen anytime soon.
- One can reach the SFO BART station most easily from the G concourse at SFO.
- In a pinch, one can use BART to connect from SFO to Oakland Airport (OAK). The BART system does not go all the way to OAK. At the Oakland Airport stop, one exits BART and has to wait for a shuttle bus to travel the last ~2 miles to the Oakland terminal. There are no known plans by BART to extend all the way to the Oakland Airport.
[edit] Connections to Passenger Rail
The Millbrae BART station offers connections to Cal-Train. BART and Cal-Train have separate ticketing systems, so one needs separate tickets for each one.
Cal-Train runs along the spine of the peninsula from San Francisco through San Mateo County and also Santa Clara County. Most trains end at the downtown San Jose station, but a few trains continue farther south to Gilroy. Cal-Train offers service 7 days a week and for most of the day, but Cal-Train is optimized for commuters. There is much more service during the weekday morning rush hours and evening rush hours than in the middle of the day, at night, or at the weekend.
In a pinch, one can take a bus from the Santa Clara Cal-Train station to the San Jose Airport (SJC) terminal buildings. Taking a taxi from SFO to SJC will be much faster, but also much more expensive, than publc transport.
The San Jose Cal-Train station is also used by the US national passenger rail system, Amtrak, and to other California passenger rail services, such as the Altamont Express commuter service through Livermore to Stockton.
[edit] Hotel Shuttles
Many hotels near SFO Airport have no-cost shuttle buses that come by every 20-30 minutes to take travellers between the hotel(s) and the airport terminals. Very early morning shuttles are often full when leaving the hotel, so it pays to allow a little extra time in case one can't get a seat on the first shuttle bus to come by one's hotel.
The hotels located on the west side of San Francisco Bay in Millbrae, CA along Old Bayshore Highway virtually all have shuttle bus service. Of course, it always pays to verify the shuttle bus service before booking any hotel.
