San Francisco Airport

Good airport though I was a bit surprised at the superlative reviews some give it. I hasten to add we used it just for one departure recently. Facilities were fairly modern and clean though not spacious. We saw the moderate line for security and entered the special line for first class and other priority passengers though it merely took us through a few twists and turns and then back to the end of the regular line (bizarre). Gate area was average in space and seating.

I have been to numerous airports in the US and I found that SFO is the best one. I have used this airport multiples times and always found them to be pleasant. The signage is very clear and the security lines are never long. It's a very efficient airport.

Flew American Airlines to and from SFO (domestic) via superb Terminal 2. Good choice of shopping and dining in a modern wide open clean and clear departure lounge. Luggage claim area with carpet and sofas which were unnecessary as baggage was already in conveyor when I got there. Multi-company rental car facilities can be easily accessed via monorail which literally delivers you righ in front of the rental counters. But attention: on my way back to the airport from San Mateo bridge I could not easily find a gas station close to the highway in order to have the car refuelled so allow extra time for not missing your flight.

I live 50 miles from the airport. I have used SFO for over 30 years for primarily international Hawaii and East Coast travel. The airport keeps getting better. Currently most of my flights are in and out of the refurbished Terminal 2. Clean bright open. Good food shops and a couple of good bars. Wished security was a bit quicker but it is a lot better than some places. SFO has good connections with downtown San Francisco and the East Bay via BART (expensive though). For locals it has good freeway access and a lot of different parking options. The problem with SFO is the weather.

Arrival after a 13 hour flight and one is greeted by serpentine queues at immigration counters - awful lack of staff to handle sea of passengers. No staff to channel/expedite the process. Took us more than an hour to get through. Better experience with other US airports including ORD. Similar problem with getting through security on departure. Free wi-fi is a farce - poor connectivity - gave up after several attempts on my smartphone.

Nice enough terminal but everything shuts at 10 or 11! Bar and restaurant staff quite happily tell you they are closing early! There are about 6 busy flights leaving after 1120 no wonder there is a recession in the USA!

This is another dreadful airport - all too common in the US west. The facilities were good but it was so busy that there were no seats to use in any of the bars and restaurants. The WiFi was too slow to use - no doubt because the terminal was overcrowded. My international flight used another adjoining terminal. Absolutely nothing to eat and drink airside - I stocked up on chips knowing that United Airlines were going to serve me muck.

The earlier reviewer who stated one cannot move from one terminal to the next without exiting the secured area and re-entering through security is incorrect. There are clearly marked walkways which direct you to other terminals within the security zone. Having said that if SFO is your first port of entry to the U.S. from an international point of origin and you are connecting to a domestic flight after exiting immigration and customs you are out of the secured area and will need to go through security to board your connecting flight.

I flew through the International Terminal at the SFO airport twice on my trip to Asia. This airport is a typical big city US airport with gates far apart. Unlike airports in Asia and Europe there are no smoking rooms inside the terminal but rather smokers are forced to go outside. Outside smoking areas can be far from toilets and other facilities inside the terminal making it difficult for those of us who cannot walk very much. Prices at the food establishments are very high although the food was at least good. I found wheelchair service to be variable ranging from ok to good. Overall I would prefer to avoid this airport in the future.

This is the only airport I've been in where if you land here to transit to another flight you have to exit security and then go back through security at each terminal you visit. It's a TSA nightmare if you have a tight connection. When I landed the TV information monitors that inform you what gate your flight is at - well in the terminal I was in those screens only showed flight numbers for flights leaving in that terminal so I had no way of knowing what terminal much less what gate my next flight was at. I ran around looking all over finally asked some cleaning lady for directions. I walked up to a TSA agent and to my horror he explained I had to exit TSA to get to other terminals. That ended up being the first flight I ever missed.