Alternative Airlines out of SFO
 

Sorry if this has been discussed, I am a multi year 1k loyal UAL flyer out of SFO. I used to be based out of SAN and was a Top Vip with AA and loved their service but made the switch went the flight attendants went out on strike.


Has anyone actually looked at the service out of SFO for competing airlines and any opinions on what is working?

Service to where? Domestic or International? Where do you typically fly/ want to fly/ have to fly?

There are a lot of answers to your question.

I've been quite happy as an EXP on AA out of SFO. If the main reason you dropped AA was because of a strike, I'd suggest you put it behind you.

The respective advantages and disadvantages of AA and UA out of SFO constitute lists too long for me to get into now. I think if you search the UA and AA boards, you'll find various posts discussing this. But to name a few factors in AA's favor:

1. A far better FF program.
2. As an EXP, far more likely to score complimentary upgrades out of SFO than a 1K is.
3. In a related vein, a much more transparent upgrade system.
4. Nicer terminal and lounge.
5. Shorter security lines.
6. An easier reservation system for the passenger and airline agents to deal with. Even if and when the many temporary glitches with UA's SHARES system are ironed out, it will remain an antiquated system that limits flexibility.

Of course, it also depends on your flying patterns and preferences. Lots of folks like Virgin and JetBlue, both of which have in-seat IFE, with the former being a spiffy new airline with inflight connectivity and all of the seats on the latter having relatively good leg room. The downside is that their route networks, particularly Virgin at this point, are limited.

It seems like AA is getting the biggest boost from fleeing UA elites in SFO, but personally I don't find the idea of having to connect to get pretty much anywhere at all very palatable. You may want to look at who has direct flights where in order to make that judgment ... the Wikipedia article on SFO has a pretty comprehensive list of flights ...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Fra...d_destinations

Personally, I'd be inclined to use a mix of Virgin America (for destinations that they serve), along with AA.

VX has a pretty decent product out of SFO and like AA a much newer/nicer terminal than UA. VX only has a points/mileage earning system though. No other frequent flyer benefits like status, upgrades, etc. to speak of if that is of importance to you.

Both AA and VX have much lighter schedules than UA out of SFO, however, VX does seem to have a schedule that keeps increasing as they try to build a bigger presence. Not sure if AA is adding or cutting at SFO.

If you do a lot of short-haul domestic then WN out of OAK has by far the most abundant schedule for going up and down the coast, etc. - even better than UA the last time I checked.

DL and US also are possibilities obviously but I know less about them so will let others comment.

Please follow this in the San Francisco forum since it is not related to United or Mileage Plus.

Thanks,
l'etoile
UA moderator

To Asia I've been using ANA. Great business class product.

Domestically, AA.

(There must already be a thread about this...)

Delta is a decent option. SLC and LAX are relatively close so connecting for the west coast isn't impossible. Plus there are flights to most of the Delta hubs still, so there are options in bad weather.

But then you have the persistent rumors of further devaluation of their FF program plus the depressing terminal, including its aggressive single checkpoint.

Agreed. AA has largely abandoned SFO/SJC, and having to connect all the time brings forth some pretty significant problems itself.