SAN FRANCISCO AIRPORT review : 30 June 2008 : by P Chang
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Customer Rating : 2/5 |  |
Flights are frequently delayed due to fog, smoke, ATC or other issues. Connecting between
international and domestic terminals require passengers to exit the secure area and go back through
the security checkpoint. Depending on arrival concourse, re-checking bags going from international
to domestic requires a long walk with bags and oftentimes another wait in line. 4) Security
checkpoints are poorly staffed. In general, not all metal detectors are being utilized resulting in
long lines. On the good side: Immigration & customs process is very efficient and quick. Checked
baggage retrieval time is reasonable ~15min. In the domestic terminal, good selection of restaurants
and shops. If possible, avoid connecting through SFO.
San Francisco Airport review by Peter Harrison
12 November 2007 Customer Rating : 
Arriving at San Francisco on a domestic flight from Honolulu was trouble free. However, on returning
to departures for a flight to JFK there was a queue of 100's of people waiting to go through security.
There is no way that passengers could be processed in the 1 hour check in time recommended by the
airlines. Luckily I had used the kerbside check-in ($5 expected!) and saved a little time - but even
so I reckon it took me the best part of an hour to get through the security area. But no problem my
flight was delayed!!
San Francisco Airport review by E Mallari
26 October 2007 Customer Rating : 
BART train to the airport highly recommended to avoid traffic and expensive airport parking. Flew out
on Virgin America that use the international terminal. The terminal is very modern, airy, and built
with future growth in mind so there's plenty of space. This is a big plus. There are many good food
outlets, gift shops, and magazine and newspaper stores. Signs are plenty enough. Lavatories are clean.
Being a local resident I know that there's plenty of parking most of the time. There is a museum
inside the terminal and art displays on both ends of the huge international terminal. Security lines
were short, breezed through security check in less than five minutes! Once beyond security, there are
plenty of sitting areas, arrival and departure information are conveniently located, and p.a.
announcements are clearly understood. Return flight, there is a separate area with a huge baggage
carousel for the domestic flights that arrive in the international terminal. Baggage started to arrive
about 25 minutes after we landed. Our son picked us up and luckily there was no airport traffic to
speak of. Traffic on the freeway in front of SFO was light and arrived home in 20 minutes.
San Francisco Airport review by Gunther Arneson
23 October 2007 Customer Rating : 
I use BART regularly and find the BART extension to SFO to be a godsend - who can beat 5 bucks to go
from downtown to the airport? The only thing of course is that if your flight is early on weekends it
could be hard to catch the flight because the BART starts later in the morning.
San Francisco Airport review by G Godall
11 September 2007 Customer Rating : 
This was my first time at SFO and I was impressed with the airport - appreciated the clean, modern
looking terminal. Public transport into the city was excellent; the BART station is practically inside
the airport and so cheap. The check-in desks at the international terminal were clearly signposted and
all the staff (except security) were charming. The museum was a refreshing and amusing diversion.
There weren't many restaurants, but I guess the powers-that-be decided to focus on the quality rather
than quantity of eateries.
San Francisco Airport review by S Golden
16 August 2007 Customer Rating : 
If there is a modern, efficient and pleasant side to SFO I did not experience it on a recent flight
from Newark on Continental. The passenger terminal facility seemed old, very poorly laid out, and
under partial reconstruction in many places, with poor signage resulting in great confusion (e.g.,
large "Restrooms" signs leading only to facilities for women). Also much unavoidable traipsing up and
down stairs. Worst of all, getting to the (far away) car rental center, especially with baggage, was
an ordeal involving escalators, stairs, a journey to and through the parking garage, a lack of
signage, and a slow multi-stop "train" to the far end of the airport, followed by more escalators,
etc. I am informed that locals and frequent visitors have learned not to rent at the airport, if at
all possible. And then what do you do when Hertz unexpectedly runs out of cars, and there are no taxis
anywhere near the rental car area?
San Francisco Airport review by John Oram
6 June 2007 Customer Rating : 
Arrived from JFK and needed to leave for PSP three hours later. This is
not at all difficult at SFO where you can just walk through a horseshoe
shape from one terminal to another. Closed Terminal 2 is a bit strange
as its supposed refurbishment is presumably waiting for the completion
of other work in Terminal 1. Nothing really to complain about in T1 as
one can readily complain about TSA - or at least the regulations they
have to enforce - anywhere. We ate in Go Bistro which offers interesting
Asian food but I must say the product, although satisfactory, does not
live up to the flowery words on the menu. At SFO as earlier at JFK they
have decided, surprisingly for Americans - the world's leading
proponents of shoe removal - that they no longer need to re-check photo
ID at the gate.
San Francisco Airport review by James Faulkner
26 January 2007 Customer Rating : n/a
Arrival from Canada was very easy, though we had already passed customs
in Canada. Got a cab in 5 minutes. Departures - customs fairly easy,
and after customs, there were a few shops - though toilets dirty.
San Francisco Airport review by Peter Schweizer
9 January 2007
Arrived from SYD on UA and had to clear customs in SFO before continuing
on to ORD. Very nice and wide open UA terminal with good variety of
shops. Overall positive impression spoilt by extremely rude and arrogant
immigration officer thinking he was god. He managed to intimidate
various non-english speaking passengers. Certainly not a good first
impression for people arriving in the US for the first time.
San Francisco Airport review by Ed Fry
21 November 2006
Simple, open plan layout - no long queues, friendly security,
excellent shopping and eating facilities and finally a convenient hub on the west coast! BART system
excellent! Would use it everyday. Check-in was a breeze with plenty of staff on hand to help.
San Francisco Airport review by Steve Fenton
12 October 2006
I arrived into SFO from TPE with China Airlines and they seem to
allocated the first gate on the pier which meant we had a really short
walk into passport control. To my amazement it was completely empty and
I was the first passenger to enter it. I was cleared within seconds and
to my further amazement about 4 minutes later my luggage appeared as
well. I was outside in 12 minutes from getting off the plane. The guy
who picks me up normally leaves his house 22 miles away when he sees the
plane has landed on his computer giving me time to go through all the
formality. He arrived and parked himself in front of the monitors to
watch for me coming out but he did not know I was already out and we
actually stood for 20 minutes within 5 metres of each other not
realising the situation. This has to be a world record for SFO airport.
The return flight was very fast for check in and security clearance, all
of 5 minutes on a busy saturday night and my only dissapointment was the
awful China Airlines lounge and the expensive wifi fees they rip you off
for.
San Francisco Airport review by Jeff Pug
10 October 2006
Took BART to SFO. The BART ride was quick & easy. Transferred to
Airtrain to get to Terminal 1 (flying CO). Transfer into ticketing
lobby was a mess - down stairs, around a hall, up an elevator, across
the street. etc. The skybridge can't open soon enough. Not enough CO
desk clerks to help the hordes of tourist who had never seen an E-ticket
kiosk before, as a result the line got very long very quick.
Security line was long as many planes were scheduled for similar
departure times. TSA did not have enough screeners in place (all it
would take is for them to look at the airline schedule to determine
proper staffing levels). Also TSA did not expedite those who had
flights imminently. Didn't have time to look around concourses
amenities as I had to rush to gate to make my flight which was already
boarding due to delay at security.
San Francisco Airport review by James Kraus
11 July 2006
BART goes right to the I-terminal and drops you off about 200 feet from
the first bank of Airline check in counters. Don't gripe about having
to schlep to the train to D-terminal - don't take it. Walk right
through the I-term, down the stairs, turn left, and there's the D-term.
I've never waited more than 10 minutes to get through I-term security
because you're not competing with domestic pax. Then, you don't have to
hike forever to get to the farthest gate.
San Francisco Airport review by Richard Galarneau
10 June 2006
I can't think of an airport that better represents Silicon Valley than
the new SFO. It's like being a part of a big technical machine. The
new people mover and complex of concrete and technology that has
swallowed the exterior finishes the effect. When picking up or dropping
off the rental car, I feel like I’m driving down to some loading dock in
the bad part of down. Welcome to San Francisco, let us show you our
industrial underbelly first thing! While SFO is perfect at representing
Silicon Valley, it, like the rest of the development there, ignores the
natural wonder and weather that draws people to the bay area. Now I
like Santa Barbara Airport. Not that it could support the volume of SFO
but when you arrive there, you really feel like you are in California
and you know why people come there. At SFO, you are totally divorced
from the Bay Area and are part of the silicon dream, don’t smell the
exhaust. The designers of SFO start by totally ignoring one of the
natural wonders of the world. Next, they treat travelers like baggage
in a dirty, exhaust-filled machine. They then reward you with a food
court and a nice interior design. Bad trade off and a missed
opportunity.
San Francisco Airport review by Jane Marfleet
20 January 2006
Flew through SFO recently and baggage never made connecting flight to
YVR. Staff at YVR indicated "if baggage goes missing and you flew
through SFO, you can bet that is where the problem is." Not exactly a
glowing commentary on their baggage handling capabilities.
San Francisco Airport review by Richard Walder
5 December 2005
Having recently used SFO for the first time I was not impressed. We
arrived from PHL having connected and flown from London Gatwick, so by
the time we arrived in SFO we had been travelling for nearly 24 hours.
We arrived at US Air terminal and followed poor signs for car rentals,
which took us to an escalator. (no trolleys allowed, nor info for a lift
or elevator ). We abandoned our trolley and went down the escalator and
ended up in a multi storey car park. No signs where car rentals were
there, and we were hand carrying heavy suitcases. Not the way to
welcome someone to SFO. Eventually found a cleaner who told us to walk
through the dimly red lit car park to the train!! After struggling
with cases & hand luggage, got the train, to wait for many minutes for a
train to the car rental building. There it was efficiency all the way
and apologies for poor signs. On the return from holiday, with an early
monday morning flight back via PHL to LGW we allowed two+ hours for car
rental return & check-in, but it was pleasant to get to the terminal and
check-in from leaving our car in only 30 minutes, BUT we knew where we
were going and we were not tired. Self check-in was not that easy
though as it did not seem to cope with two flights, one an international
one, but help from ground staff eventually assisted. Usual comments
about lack of seating and expensive food, but signage needs to be
improved for poor long haul travellers trying to find their car rentals,
please!!
San Francisco Airport review by Melissa Miller
13
September 2005
I have watched this airport go through several incarnations all in the
name of improvement. The new people mover is a nice touch, although not
very practical. Why have one train that has to go to all the terminals,
when they could have a separate one for domestic flights and one for
international. Plan on getting there several hours before your flight,
to allow time to get off BART, wait for the train and then get to your
gate. No luggage carts can be taken into the BART station, so be
prepared to struggle with all your baggage onto the air train and vice
versa. The restaurants are ok, very expensive of course, and the food,
offered by Starbucks, and the other usual chains is ok. SFO is
better, still has a long way to go.
San Francisco Airport review by Alan Wan
3
August 2005
Came through SFO twice in July. The baggage handling was a joke, the first time we
arrived from Toronto with Air Canada and waited 40+ minutes for bags. A week later
arrived with TED and waited over an hour. Yes I take on board the positive comments
made about the airport. Its better than LHR for departing but at least with Heathrow
they have efficient baggage handling
San Francisco Airport review by Andrew Mortimer
6
June 2005
Would echo Nick Way's comments below. Our flight had a medical diversion en route to SFO resulting
in nearly 3 hour delay but clearance for onward flights etc. was extremely efficient. I even got a
smile from the immigration officer - it must have been Friday 13th!
San Francisco Airport review by Paul McClure
4
June 2005
Fly into SFO from Calgary on my way to Mexico City with United. Arrived T3 and had to connect to
the International Terminal. Firstly, no signage saying where to go to catch the bus to the
International Terminal and what signage there had was covered by construction. When I did find it,
I had the United agents barking at us to get into line and no one was going through the line
answering questions or concerns. I ended up speaking to a United supervisor who took my concerns,
blamed the airport for not allowing to have the proper signs (which I agree) and did apologize for
the actions of the United agents. This did bring my attitude towards United around and thanked him
for taking the time to listen to me. On return, we were parked at the first gate by immigration and a full bank of agents were working.
Getting our luggage to go through customs took 45 minutes and all the first class guest got theirs
last! I do agree, the AirTran is amazing and the view is second to none if you are an aircraft fane like
me. Also, the BART station right in the airport puts into a league shared with Frankfurt and
Amsterdam. All in all, okay airport but a lot of walking. Still think the landing and take off is one of the
best in the world.
San Francisco Airport review by Nick Way
6
May 2005
Echo recent comments - the international terminal is superb. And the monorail connection to the
rental car centre is a huge improvement. Arrived there on October 2 last year - just after they'd
started the fingerprint and photo scheme for visitors. Expected it to be a nightmare, but was
through immigration in two minutes!
San Francisco Airport review by Joe Morse
25
January 2005
SFO is a very efficient airport for international travellers, but leaves a great deal to be desired
for domestic passengers. I live in San Francisco, and travel in and out of SFO literally every week.
GROUND TRANSPORTATION : BART runs right into the international terminal, which is convenient for international passengers
and people flying out of domestic terminal 3 (United, American). The BART system itself is a
somewhat marginal way of getting to and from the airport, since it often takes 45 minutes for the
train to get to/from San Francisco. If you're flying out of terminal 3 (2 is currently closed) on
airlines other than United or American, BART is probably not a good option. The airtrain system is
atrociously designed, requiring terminal 3 passengers (most with bags) to descend several
escalators, one elevator, walk through a maze of a parking garage, and emerge two levels below
terminal 3's ticketing counters. It often takes me over 1 hour to get to the airport from my Mission
District home (12 miles, and I live close to a BART station). I often take a taxi to save upwards of
45 minutes. SECURITY : Security screening is hit-or-miss. The private contractors hired by TSA are often indifferent or
outright rude. But sometimes the line moves quickly, and they will often expedite people one soon-
departing flights to make sure they make their flight. Like most airports, SFO's screening areas
could use more table space to get things ready to put through the screening machines.
FOOD : The international terminal has a lot of choices, but most of them are chains. If you're looking for
original local food, eat before you get to the airport. Terminal 1 has more options than terminal 3,
which is dismal.
San Francisco Airport review by Neil Rutherford
23 October 2004
THe New United International Terminal is fantastic. On arriving from Sydney I had to go through the
new security procedures at custom and had my photograph taken all of which must have added about 2
mins to the usual requirements, the terminal is airy and fresh and the departure area for onward
International flights has more than adequate shops and restaurants. All in all a very pleasant
experience.
San Francisco Airport review by D Newberry
28 April 2004
Same comments as below really, lovely international airport. One point though, no internet
terminals, hard to believe really?
San Francisco Airport review by Yuri Andropov
15 April 2004
SFO International is new and spacious. SFO domestic is old and cramped. The connection between the
new car rental drop-off building (opened 1.1.04) and the train to the terminals is very poorly
signposted, but the train itself is efficient.
The new international terminal is good for arrivals, except for the regular long wait for non-US
citizens through immigration - 1 hour is usual.
I guess they just don't care that visitors wait. The US lane moves much quicker for obvious reasons.
San Francisco Airport review by Chris Chen
22 January 2004
The new International airport is superb. The domestic terminals are pretty nice and tidy
as well. I guess with the skytrain and bart it is also very well connected to the
entire Bay Area.
The huge check in area of the intl dep along with the mini museums in terminal connectors add to the
beauty and style and makes it a rival for Asian airports like Hong Kong, Seoul and Changi.
San Francisco Airport review by Brian Locicero
27 December 2003
It puts LAX to shame with the shiny new International Terminal, which features gourmet restaurants,
internet kiosks, elegant museum displays and more all wrapped in a stylish, light filled terminal.
Plus the direct BART connection into town is easy to find and use, unlike JFK, which requires a
shuttle bus connection to the subway. The only downside is that SFO is prone to delays, mostly due
to fog and cramped runway space.
San Francisco Airport review by Richard Amparan
1 October 2003
San Francisco International has improved markedly in the last couple of years since my last visit.
The new international terminal is a welcome and pleasant addition. One of the most pleasant aspects
of this airport are the wonderful museum quality exhibits found throughout the terminals (I believe
the airport is an accredited museum). Spending time in the airport, as one often does, is made
infinitely more tolerable by these eclectic and fascinating displays. So much more engaging and
enlightening than the usual shopping mall atmosphere (that's there too for those who prefer it).
Also be sure to visit the new aviation museum and library, which is housed in a full-scale replica
of the original passenger terminal! I found the food available at the airport among the best in my
travels. No fast food nightmare this. A wide range of Asian, American and European meals.
Finally, one magnificent improvement is the new BART subway link to downtown San Francisco. I was
in the lobby of my hotel within a half hour of leaving the airport, with no need for an expensive
taxi or inconvenient bus connection.
San Francisco Airport review by Rene Debos
21 June 2003
The new International Terminal at SFO is a big improvement. For those that fly into SFO as a non-
citizen, the lines at passport / customs can be huge especially if you arrived just after an Air China
flight. This is not due to a lack of immigration officers (there are plenty) but due to their
scrutiny of checking passports/visas and the need for translators.
After passport control you'll pick up your luggage which is conveniently located between passport
and customs control. Recently the lines for customs / agri-dept were ridiculous. If you are 'unlucky'
to be marked for customs search of your bags you might have to wait for a long time. The staff is
generally friendly except for most of the passport control officers who can be intimidating and
plain rude. I always have to smile when I get harassed by some customs officer whose English is
worse then mine.
The public announcements over the PA can sometimes be hard to understand. The diversity of San
Francisco is great but some of the accents make for hard to understand
announcements. The departure
and arrival screens are a disgrace and for some reason there are almost no clocks in the terminal.
For those flying out of the SFO intnl terminal. Food court before customs is great. Prices are
not too outrageous when compared to city prices and the management made sure to avoid the like of
Burger King and McDonalds. Once thru security you'll have limited options to eat but there is a
decent mexican food restaurant. shopping at the terminal is limited when compared to other airports
like AMS or LHR. Smoking is only outside and for those of you who cant stand
that - get over it (I
am a smoker myself).
The airport buses (connecting to Marin County, Sonoma County, Monterey etc) are located right
outside the terminal, as are the taxis.
There is now a lightrail operating between the longterm parking garage and the terminals and (oh
joy) the BART (light rail system) will be connected to SFO starting middle June 2003 making it easy
to catch the Bart from downtown SF and elsewhere and vice-versa.
San Francisco Airport review by Lim Shu Hao
12 May 2003
SFO is nothing compared to the airports I usually use, which includes Changi and
HKIA. There was no interior design to speak of, which left me the
impression that SFO was just a roof to house aerobridges, immigration counters and baggage
carousels. Departure was equally disappointing. Not wanting to pay for a trolley would mean that
you will have to hand carry all your baggage. Flight information screens are small and few and far
between. The lack of proper signage separating the A and G piers meant that my host almost led me
to the wrong pier! Only two shops were open. Overall, do not expect much from SFO. SFO: Use it,
not enjoy it.
San Francisco Airport review by Steve Fenton
09 December 2002
San Francisco is somewhat assumptive to the passenger who does not know the layout very well. Its
great if you are being met, but very confusing if you have to find your own way to where you need to
be. Renting a car means you have to take a bus to the car hire location and this you have to pay for.
To get down town by Taxi costs a fortune and then there is the shuttle bus service which takes you
to your door. A word of warning about shuttle bus. Make sure the fellow passengers actually know where they are
going. We ended up with an old lady who had us drive past her house 3 times. The poor driver was
obliged to get her home but it made our journey into the city centre a very long one.
I have also found that obtaining a visa before you go, means you can actually go through the USA
citizen line rather than joining those very slow moving lines for people requiring temporary
visa's.
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