World City Guide

Getting There By Air

San Francisco International Airport (SFO)
Tel: (650) 821 4001. Fax: (650) 821 4004.
Website: www.flysfo.com

Situated 25km (15 miles) southeast of the city, off Routes 101 and 280, San Francisco International Airport is the fifth busiest in the USA and eighth busiest in the world, handling 1,260 flights daily. In 2002, total passengers numbered 31,457,422.

Major airlines: More than 50 major airlines operate in and out of San Francisco International, including US carriers United Airlines (tel: (800) 241 6522; website: www.ual.com) and American Airlines (tel: (800) 433 7300; website: www.aa.com). Other airlines include British Airways, China Airlines, Air Canada, Japan Airlines, Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines and Virgin Atlantic. Domestic airlines provide regular flights to the rest of the USA. They include Alaska Airlines, Continental Airlines, Delta Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines and US Airways.

Airport facilities: These include banks, ATMs, bureaux de change and numerous bars and restaurants, gift and speciality shopping, including duty-free outlets. Five public information booths and a Bureau of Consular Affairs are on site. An Air Train takes passengers to nine airport stations and to car hire operators, including Alamo, Avis, Budget, Dollar, Hertz, National, InterRent and Thrifty.

Business facilities: A business centre, located in the Airport Travel Agency (tel: (650) 877 0422), provides fax services, airline tickets, luggage storage, shipping boxes and hotel reservations. A number of airline lounges are available for frequent flyer cardholders. Conference and business facilities are available at the Global Communications Centre and the AT&T International Calling Centre in the international terminal.

Transport to the city: Shuttles, buses, taxis and limousines are all readily available. American Airporter Shuttle (tel: (415) 202 0733) provides a 24-hour, door-to-door service. The cost is US$15. SFO Airporter Inc (tel: (650) 624 0500) charges US$13.50 and provides service Downtown, every 15-30 minutes (0615-2400). Taxis are metered and the fare to the downtown area is approximately US$30. San Mateo County Transit aka SamTrans (tel: (800) 660 4287) runs bus services to the Transbay Terminal at Mission Street. Journey times vary between 25 minutes and 45 minutes, depending on traffic. Public transportation leaves from the blue zone on the airport’s lower level. Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) (tel: (415) 989 2278; website: www.bart.gov) now operates public transport from the airport to Downtown and other areas. The cost, based on distance traveled, starts at US$4.70. Trains run from early morning until evening, with the last train at 2354 nightly.

Oakland International Airport (OAK):
Tel: (510) 563 3300.
Website: www.oaklandairport.com

Located across the Bay, 32km (20 miles) from Downtown San Francisco, Oakland receives mainly domestic but some international charter flights and may be a less expensive gateway to the Bay Area.

Major airlines: Around a dozen airlines fly to and from OAK. The major US airline include United Airlines (tel: (800) 241 6522; website: www.ual.com) and American Airlines (tel: (800) 433 7300; website: www.aa.com). Other carriers include Alaska Airlines, Aloha Airlines, America West, Continental, Delta, JetBlue, Mexicana Airlines, Northwest, Southwest Airlines and US Airways.

Airport facilities: Facilities include banks, ATMs, shoeshine, Internet access, travel insurance, duty-free shopping, currency exchange and food outlets. Car hire is available from Avis, Budget, Dollar, Hertz and National.

Business facilities: Aerzone has opened a number of private mini-offices close to departure gates housing personal computers, fax and Internet services. The airport provides details. Laptop Lane (tel: (510) 969 3580) has five mini-offices near Gate 10, and four mini-offices in the connector building between Terminal One and Terminal Two, near Gate 20. Each mini-office has a personal computer, a colour laser printer, plain paper fax machine, a multi-line phone and laptop PC connections to a T-1 line for Internet and e-mail.

Transport to the city: AC Transit (tel: (510) 817 1717; website: www.actransit.org) operates the TransBay Express, providing a 24-hour service between Oakland International and Mission Street and First Street in San Francisco, costing US$5. Buses depart at the front of both terminals. The service runs every 30 minutes (0500-2100) and hourly thereafter. AC Transit’s line 58 connects the airport to the Alameda/Oakland Ferry (tel: (510) 522 3300), which runs services to San Francisco’s ferry terminal and Pier 39, at Fisherman’s Wharf. Numerous shuttles include Bayporter Express (tel: (877) 467 1800 or (415) 467 1800; website: www.bayporter.com), which charges US$26 into San Francisco plus US$12 for each additional passenger. Journey times vary between 30 minutes and 60 minutes, depending on traffic. An AirBART shuttle, costing US$2, provides services between Oaklands International and the Bay Area Rapid Transit – BART (tel: (415) 989 2278; website: www.bart.gov) train station, for trips into San Francisco.

Approximate flight times to San Francisco: From London is 11 hours; from New York is 6 hours; from Los Angeles is 1 hour; from Toronto is 5 hours and from Sydney is 13 hours.

Arrival/departure tax: A tax of US$97.73 is added to the price of the ticket.