San Francisco (Usa) Airport Questions

[Bruce]

It appears that I may be returning to Phils late in January. On all past trips I flew out of Los Angeles. My issues are not the actual flights by Philippine Airlines, which is best for me due to time of arrival in Manila (about 7am +-) so I can get a connecting flight out to Tacloban. It is also the shortest at 16-17 hours to Phils and 11-12 back to LA.

My issue is that I fly out of either Miami or Ft. Lauderdale (better) to get to LA. I used to use AA and have a 2-3 hr wait for the Philippine Air flight out. I wopuld rather wait longer then to have to do an OJ commercial (circa 1970's). But recently AA has become very unreliable and changed flight times.

So I am looking at Flying from Ft. Lauderdale to San Francisco instead and then taking the Philippine Air flight. Same time frame same costs. Easier to get in and out of San Francisco time wise.

Once I get to San Francisco, what is the airport like? Which terminal is the Philippine AIrline located in? Any likes or dislikes? Lounge access? (I have frequent flyer status) For those who have flown out of both LA and SF... got any preferences?

[Dougbert]

I have not flown out of LA or on PAL, but have flown out of SFO many times including about a half dozen international flights. The international terminal is relatively new (~10-15yrs old) and is completely separate from the older terminal which is for domestic flights. The new terminal is very nice and modern. Immigration is pretty efficient as is the security. The baggage claim areas can get crowded when multiple flights arrive around the same time.

The two terminals are not far apart and I believe there are shuttles between them, but you can also walk it depending on which terminal your domestic flight arrives in. According to the PAL web site there is a lounge on "aisle #11" in the international terminal at SFO. The gate areas are pretty big, but there aren't many outlets around if you want to charge your phone or laptop. Food choices are a bit limited compared to some airports (like Incheon or Narita), but not bad.

http://www.flysfo.com/web/page/orphan/arr-dep/index.html

Edited December 8, 2012 by Dougbert

[Bruce]

In LA I walk several hundred yards between the AAand the Bradley international terminal 5 I so walking is not an issue. Thanks