SFO CX Lounge

I arrived at SFO at 8:30 AM for my 11:50 AM flight. This was probably a bit overkill, but I was incredibly excited about the entire first class experience and wanted to spend some time in the CX F lounge. Moreover, the early NFL games kicked off at 10 AM and I wanted to be settled in to follow my fantasy football team before leaving.

As I approached the CX F counters, there was no one else checking in, unsurprisingly. I was proactively greeted with a smile by the check-in agent and quickly checked in. There was some confusion about my return flight, for some reason they couldn't find it despite the confirmation number, but they told me not to worry, gave me directions to the lounge, and sent me on my way. (there was no issue with the return flight, for those that are wondering). One thing I liked about the check-in process here is that they issued lounge invites to the SFO CX F lounge, HKG Arrivals, and HKG F lounge. Having flown UA premium cabins many times, I've yet to receive a lounge invite.

After getting my nice freedom pat-down, I followed the signs to the CX lounge. As I went up the escalator and looked down the hall, something was there, way off in the distance...


What is that down there?

As I approached, it finally came into view:

I had finally arrived!

With over three hours until departure, I was the first one in the lounge. The same lounge dragon that had greeted SFO777 a week earlier, Lilibeth, was there and welcomed me to the lounge. She apologized that being so early, not all of the food options had been laid out yet. I was surprised that this was the case, having arrived almost an hour after opening time. Nevertheless, the food options they did later put out weren't that impressive. She did check on me every 20-30 minutes to see if I needed anything. A nice touch. After finding the same quiet corner as SFO777, I took some photos of the lounge:

Hey, it's 5 PM somewhere...


One half of the lounge


Second half of the lounge with the computer corner where I settled in the distance.





Supposed buffet menu


But nothing out yet!



Eventually the made to order noodle bar was open and I did get myself a tasty bowl of wonton noodles.


This lounge has been covered quite extensively in the past so I didn't take more photos. That, and the Atlanta-New Orleans game had significant fantasy football implications. I also didn't want to stuff myself in the lounge before stuffing myself on board. Eventually the lounge filled up quite a bit and pretty much all the seats were taken up. I noticed that several people were able to enter the lounge when the lounge dragon was busy doing other things, which gave me some ideas for next time I'm in the area... j/k

Knowing that I would be on a plane for the next 14 hours, I decided to leave at T-60 to go for a little walk and explore the gate area. Although the CX lounge itself has no good tarmac views, the top of the escalator leading down from the lounge floor had a great view of my plane.

My chariot awaits...