Originally Posted by
seat38a
So I just got back from SFO which was my first time ever flying into San Francisco. Driven and taken the train but this weekend was my first time flying into SFO. On this forum, we will get people saying SFO this and SFO that not in a good way. I went to the end of ALL of United's Concourse and back including the International Section. Also, I went inside all three of the domestic United Clubs there. Except for the United Club across from gate Gate 71A which while clean and nicely stocked, was deep inside the building without any natural lights, kind of was depressing. The other two were fine. The terminal concourse were all bright and clean with a variety of food options. The staff in the lounges were all pleasant as well.
My flight back home was oversold so as a VOLUNTARY bump, I was offered $400.00 voucher plus I told them I wanted first class on the alternative flight to which they agreed to. The supervisor even offered up $20.00 dollars food voucher. With 4 hours to kill till my next flight, I explored every corner of UA's concourse. No nasty lounge dragons were around. The gate staff were excellent. The only issue was with a passenger in FC who security had to be called on once we landed but other than that it was smooth sailing.
1) Weather (fog or even just general turbulence makes for bumpy morning landings)
2) Food is meh unless you're flying out of T2. I'm not a huge fan of the food court options, and it's expensive. Klein's Deli is okay I suppose.
3) I'm not sure what lounge dragons you speak of. I don't have status, but every time I peek inside, the UCs are packed to the gills.
4) Less related given you seem to be connecting rather than staying in SF, but worth bringing up: ground transport sucks. Either you pay through the roof for Uber, or you spend an hour navigating a subway system that smells like a sewer, covers a narrow slice of the city (or you're taking Caltrain south and have to figure out how to go from Caltrain station to where you're actually going).
Originally Posted by
laxmillenial
SNA -> SFO is my favorite route to get bumped at. It's almost guaranteed around the holidays
Last year I flew it three times just to get voluntarily bumped 3 times. This is what I do in my holidays LOL.
Whoa, I've flown this route 8x (ish?) in the past three months and have yet to run into an oversell situation. Which flights are you taking? I will say though, I find it incredibly amusing when over half the plane boards in Group 1, at least for UA209/809 anyway.
Originally Posted by
laxmillenial
I feel like you're comparing more domestic vs international service. What airport in the US has the level of service you describe above? I've never seen it unless you're GS. Most of the time it's "A representative will meet you at the gate" and half the time there is no representative at the gate and you either call or go to a customer service desk.
Was the ground staff in HKG United Airlines staff?
I flew HKG-SFO this morning. There were a surprisingly large number of UA ground staff (8+) at the gate and they processed everyone fairly quickly given the new "enhanced security measures" (or maybe just with typical Hong Kong efficiency). Considering the ORD/EWR flights depart/arrive just a few hours earlier, I'm guessing UA maintains a fairly large ground staff.