Originally Posted by
dhuey
I haven't heard anything about additional airside connections at SFO. I would think a T1 to International-A connection would make the most sense of the possible links to add. This would allow lots of domestic-international passengers to stay airside on their outbounds. Then add T2 to T1, so American passengers can connect to I-A airside. American/British Airways combos are common.
T2 to T3 would seem like the lowest priority. T2 is only Virgin America and American. Not many passengers are connecting from T2 to T3 (United) or International-G (mostly Star Alliance).
You are probably right about the priority; I only meant to point out that it is in principle better for maximum airside connectivity for passenger connections, amenity sharing and load balancing, and assuming the appropriate security cut-offs are in place in case of checkpoint breaches. The only good reason not to is due to additional expense, even at the initial design phase of a terminal. For the many people who don't have precheck, running from terminal 1 to terminal 3 on foot will often be faster than clearing security after taking airtrain.
Granted, inter-airline non-alliance connections aren't that common, but they're not at all rare either. I not infrequently see tearful families trying to connect from WN to AA or VX, or some other airline to UA, having hopes dashed by 15-20 min security waits.