New gate numbering system at SFO beginning Oct 16, 2019
 

SFO is changing the gate number system at all terminals beginning Oct 16. Gate numbers will change from numeric to alphanumeric (e.g. Gate 64 is now Gate E11). Letters will correspond to the boarding area.

For United in Terminal 3: Boarding Area E, gates E1 – E13, and Boarding Area F, gates F1 – F22 will replace gates 60-90.

For United in the International Terminal: gates G1 – G14 will replace gates 91-102.

https://www.flysfo.com/gate-renumbering

http://media.flysfo.com.s3.amazonaws...ew_800x700.png

This makes way more sense than what they currently do especially since the SFO website refers to things like "Boarding Area E" that isn't used in any useful context (i.e. signage). But, now I have to re-learn all the gates. I don't like change!!!1! :o

Heard this on the local news as well. While this probably doesn't belong on the UA forum it definitely needed to be done. FINALLY the confusion will end there, I can't tell you the number of times I have been asked by confused tourist as to where there gate is. I have been in and out of here for over 30 years and even I have gotten confused!

I assume this is necessitated by addition of a whole bunch new T1 gates (the new B concourse).

Agree it will take some getting used to. I instinctively groan when crew announces "we'll be arriving at Gate 90" . . . it will take a while to learn the same reaction when "F20" is announced.

Agree on the assumption...noticed the alpha numeric gate titles on the new wing of Terminal 1 the other day.

I might have preferred simply adding letters to the gates, which does help aid travelers in knowing where to go. Maybe I'm not looking at the terminal map well, but it appears they could simply have put the relevant letter first before the existing gate numbers and been done with it.

Hope that the signages will be clear at various transfer points. It will take a while to re-map the gate numbers for the E area.

I assume they were also trying to unwind the various double gates (71A, 71B, etc.) at the same time.

I am quite disappointed though. I can't build a rational case against it, but it's changing the SFO I know, and it's sad :(

Another airport that can't seem to follow a consistent numbering scheme. In the "E" terminal they seemed to do a decent job of odd on one side and even on the other with the exception of E4. The "F" terminal is a bigger disaster. F17, F19, F20 and F22 are on the 'wrong' side.

If a lot of people can't figure out the simple numbers SFO has used for years I don't see this helping honestly. Whenever I enter a terminal I don't know I look at the first gates on both sides and figure out which side even and odd are. No point in doing that, especially in the "F" terminal.

-RM

IMO, the F-terminal layout makes more sense than trying to keep the odds and evens on the right side once you reach the end. Once you're in that close proximity it makes more sense to have adjacent gates be sequential to the extent possible. There's a large gap between F15 and F22, so it makes sense for the gap in numbers to be there. Plus, it doesn't really make much difference given once you get there all of the gates will be visible from each other, so any confusion will be very short-lived.

This might make sense at LAX as well, where the terminal and gate nomenclature limit each terminal to 10 gate numbers before you have to tack on letters or special characters (for example, Gate 71, 71A, 71.2, 71.2:-:, etc).

Perhaps they should incorporate emojis - Your flight to Hawaii? Gate :cool:. Your flight to [place you really dislike]? Gate :(.

:D

Thanks for the heads up, scottpenderson.

You'd end up needing a 12 yo kid to tell you which gate your flight is at.

So this won't be confusing anymore.
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...3a3c85b28c.jpg

They could not have (at least not without splitting a single number into A/B gates), because they're adding four new gates (three to B concourse, one to C).