Four terminals in a ring, four runways and a railway built into the international terminal. SFO is the front door to one of the most important business regions on earth, and one of the easiest big American airports to get right. Here is how to make it work for you, not against you.
San Francisco International occupies a rare position in the itinerary of the British business traveller. It is the principal airport of the Bay Area and the gateway between Britain and a region whose economic weight is out of all proportion to its size: the city of San Francisco, with its finance, biotechnology and venture capital, and, stretching south down the Peninsula, Silicon Valley, the global heart of the technology industry. If your work touches tech, venture funding or the Pacific, sooner or later you will land here.
The good news is that SFO is widely regarded as one of the best-run and most pleasant large airports in the United States. It is a major hub for United Airlines, with a powerful transpacific network, and its acclaimed terminals, public art and calm, efficient operation set it apart from the sprawling, fractious hubs elsewhere in the country. British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and United all fly here from London, and all of them use the same building, which makes the first question of any American airport, which terminal, unusually easy to answer.
The layout is a ring of four terminals: Harvey Milk Terminal 1, Terminals 2 and 3, and the International Terminal, all linked by the free AirTrain people mover, which circles the airport around the clock every few minutes and also serves the rental-car centre. The airport’s single greatest asset for the visitor, though, is the railway. A BART rapid-transit station is built directly into the International Terminal, the only major US airport with a rail link inside its international terminal, putting downtown San Francisco and much of the Valley within an easy ride of the arrivals hall. One caution before we begin: SFO’s famous summer fog can cause delays, a quirk of the Bay worth building into any tight schedule.
Which terminal? the easiest answer in America
For the British traveller, SFO could hardly be simpler. Every transatlantic flight, whether on British Airways, Virgin Atlantic or United, uses the International Terminal, which is arranged in two boarding areas, A and G, and handles all of the airport’s international flying alongside a long list of Asian and European carriers. It is where you will arrive from London, clearing immigration before baggage claim, and a fine, modern terminal it is, with good lounges and dining covered below.
The domestic terminals matter only if you are connecting onto a US flight. United, the dominant carrier, uses Terminal 3 and part of Harvey Milk Terminal 1 for its domestic operation, with American, Delta, Alaska and others spread across Terminals 1 and 2. Moving between terminals is straightforward on the AirTrain, though where no airside connection exists it means leaving and re-entering security. As ever, confirm your terminal on your booking, and if you are being dropped off for a flight home, make sure your driver comes to the International Terminal.
The fast way in: a train inside the terminal
No US airport is better placed for rail than SFO, and the British traveller benefits directly. The BART rapid-transit system has a station built into the International Terminal itself, so you can step off your flight, clear immigration and be on a train without leaving the building. Northbound, BART runs directly into downtown San Francisco, reaching Powell Street by Union Square in around thirty minutes for a fare of roughly eleven dollars. It is the quick, cheap and reliable way into the city, and it is entirely immune to the traffic on the freeways.
Southbound, the same line runs to Millbrae, where it connects with Caltrain, the commuter railway serving the Peninsula and Silicon Valley, from Palo Alto and Mountain View down to San Jose. That puts much of the technology corridor within reach by rail, a claim few American airports can make. The airport sits about thirteen miles south of the city and roughly midway between San Francisco and the heart of the Valley, so it is well placed for both poles of a Bay Area trip. The rule for the regular visitor: BART for downtown San Francisco, BART-and-Caltrain or a car for the Valley, and a taxi or ride-share for a single destination off the rail network.
Taxis, hire cars and ride-share
For destinations off the rail lines, particularly the scattered technology campuses of the South Bay, a hire car is often the practical choice, giving a freedom to move around the Peninsula that the trains, useful as they are, cannot fully provide. The rental-car centre is reached by the free AirTrain. For a single city or Valley destination, a taxi or ride-share offers door-to-door convenience from the designated areas at the terminals, with fares running from around thirty dollars to the nearer parts of the city to fifty, eighty or more down into the Valley, before the customary tip. Journey times swing with the Bay Area’s heavy traffic. Uber and Lyft, both Bay Area companies, are ubiquitous and run at demand-based fares.
That said, the excellent rail link changes the calculation that applies at most American airports. Many business travellers find the train the better option for San Francisco and the rail-served parts of the Valley, taking a car only where the destination demands it. The Bay Area’s notorious congestion only strengthens the case.
Immigration and security: the part to master
Entering the United States is a more involved business than a European arrival, and the groundwork starts weeks before you fly. Every UK visitor needs authorisation before travelling: for most business trips that means an approved ESTA under the Visa Waiver Programme, applied for online well ahead and valid for two years, though some travellers require a full visa, so check your circumstances early. Note that the cost of the ESTA has risen sharply, as we reported in our news coverage of the new fees.
On arrival you will clear US Customs and Border Protection at the International Terminal. SFO is generally among the more efficiently run international arrivals of the big US airports, but at busy times a queue can still build. The single most valuable thing a frequent visitor can do is enrol in Global Entry, the trusted-traveller programme open to UK citizens, which lets you skip the main queue at an automated kiosk. It requires a UK background check, a US fee and an interview, so apply months ahead, but it transforms the arrival.
Departure security is run by the TSA, and at a busy hub the checkpoints can be crowded, so allow time. For anyone connecting onto a US domestic flight, TSA PreCheck, included with Global Entry, gives a faster security lane, and CLEAR, a paid identity-verification service, moves you to the front of the queue. The advice is the same as at any US gateway: sort the ESTA before you fly, allow real time for immigration, and if you cross the Atlantic regularly, get Global Entry.
The lounges worth the walk
The International Terminal has an excellent set of lounges, and, unusually for America, they are all in the building you fly from. British Airways operates its own lounge in Boarding Area A for Club World and status passengers, and Virgin Atlantic its Clubhouse nearby, both a comfortable base before the overnight flight home. United runs a Polaris Lounge here for its long-haul business passengers, among the best business lounges in the country, and there is an American Express Centurion Lounge for eligible card holders, along with the premium spaces of various Asian carriers that reflect the terminal’s role as a Pacific gateway.
Know what your ticket, status or card opens before you arrive. A Club World ticket opens the BA lounge; Upper Class the Clubhouse; a Polaris business ticket the Polaris Lounge; a premium Amex the Centurion. For the wait before a transatlantic departure, a good lounge turns dead time into working or resting time, and at SFO the choice is strong.
Eating, buying and the last good meal
SFO has a deserved reputation for some of the best airport dining in America, reflecting the Bay Area’s celebrated food culture: outposts of well-known San Francisco restaurants, fresh Californian cooking, serious coffee and a notable Asian-influenced offer, all in bright, well-designed terminals filled with the airport’s acclaimed art collection. A genuinely good final meal before the flight home is easily had, and if you have lounge access, the dining at the Polaris Lounge in particular is excellent, so weigh one against the other.
Shopping follows the same high standard, with an emphasis on local and independent retailers in keeping with the airport’s character, plus a good electronics offer in a technology-minded airport. The practical value for the working traveller is the safety net: the charger, adaptor or US plug you forgot, replaceable airside. Do your eating and buying in the International Terminal, and keep an eye on boarding.
Where to stay
SFO has a convenient on-airport hotel, the Grand Hyatt at SFO, a modern full-service property reached from the terminals by the AirTrain, ideal for an early flight, a late arrival or an overnight connection. A long strip of cheaper hotels lines the corridor in Burlingame and Millbrae just north of the airport, reached by shuttle. But Bay Area business is spread between two poles, the city to the north and the Valley to the south, and for most trips you will stay near your work: a San Francisco hotel with BART back to the airport for a city trip, or Palo Alto, Mountain View or San Jose for the campuses. The airport’s position midway between the two, and its rail connections, give real flexibility.
Connecting onward
SFO is one of United’s largest hubs and a major Pacific gateway, so many UK travellers connect here. Be under no illusion: the United States makes every arriving international passenger clear the border before going on. There is no airside transit, so you must clear immigration, collect your checked bags, pass through customs, re-check the bags and go through security again before your onward domestic flight, even on a single ticket, and you may need the AirTrain to reach your departure terminal. SFO is well organised and the distances are modest by US-hub standards, but the process takes time, and summer fog can add more. Build a generous buffer, lean on Global Entry and PreCheck, and travel hand-luggage-only where the trip allows, which removes the reclaim and re-check entirely. The same rules apply at the New York gateways, as our JFK guide sets out.
The regular’s playbook
The habits of the seasoned SFO flyer distil to this. Sort the ESTA, or visa, well ahead. Know that the International Terminal is yours, whichever of the three UK carriers you fly. Get Global Entry if you cross the Atlantic often. Take BART for downtown, BART-and-Caltrain or a car for the Valley, and the AirTrain between terminals. Budget for tipping, 15 to 20 per cent, on every fare and bill. Use the lounges, conveniently gathered in one building. For an early flight, sleep at the Grand Hyatt. Allow for summer fog, and for a long buffer on any connection. Master these points and one of America’s most pleasant large airports serves the British business traveller very well, a marked contrast to the airports we cover on this side of the Atlantic, where the challenges are different but the discipline is the same.
The bigger picture
The defining quality at SFO is consistent excellence rather than dramatic transformation. The airport has steadily rebuilt and modernised its terminals, from the acclaimed Harvey Milk Terminal 1 onwards, with a continued emphasis on design, art, sustainability and passenger experience that has made SFO a model for American airports. Run by the City and County of San Francisco, it benefits from a region with the wealth and the will to invest in it, and United continues to build out its hub, its lounges and its long-haul network. For the traveller, the result is an airport that is already a pleasure to use and keeps getting better: the United States’ premier gateway to the technology economy, both a destination worth the journey and one of the easiest American airports to master.
