Mumbai30 Nov 23 1 Traveller Economy
Showing International Flight from San Francisco
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About San Francisco
Located on the coast of Northern California is the culturally rich city of San Francisco. The city has been christened with an array of colloquial names such as SF, The City, San Fran and Frisco. The city is a cultural haven and also the commercial and financial hub of Northern California. With attractions such as Alcatraz, Fisherman's Wharf, and the Golden Gate Bridge, the city of San Francisco is one of the best in the United States as a tourist destination.
Best time to visit San Francisco
March through May can be quite the time to visit San Francisco if you wish to avoid the tourist rush. The temperatures are quite comfortable as they range between 10 degree Celsius to 17 degree Celsius. With the temperatures slowly inching towards summer, it is definitely an excellent time to visit San Francisco. This doesn't mean you will get to take a dip in the Pacific. However, you can still take lovely strolls within the city and savour all the beautiful locales of San Francisco. Plus, these months come with exciting festivals such as San Francisco International Film Festival, Carnaval San Francisco, Bay to Breakers, International Beer Festival and St. Patrick's Day Parade and Festival.
Summers start from June through August. Tourism is at its peak with many folks flocking over to the city from various parts of the country and worldwide. The summer temperatures range from 11 degree Celsius to 20 degree Celsius. It is perfect to put on your swimming trunks and head straight to the ocean. The hotel rates do get high in San Francisco as it is peak season. For budget-travellers, this might not be the best time to visit the port city. To ensure that you do find a decent accommodation, you can make prior hotel bookings in San Francisco and let the rest follow. Even the flight tickets to San Francisco sees a surge. Not to mention how the city beams with joy to be entertained by a bevy of festivals such as North Beach Festival, Outside Land Music Festival, San Francisco Pride and more.
Fall is undoubtedly the perfect time to visit if you want to enjoy the warm temperatures and to get a good flight and hotel deals in San Francisco. The fall is warmer than summer, and the temperature is comfortably ranging from 12 degree Celsius to 21 degree Celsius. The sunny skies do feel good on the skin, and the brisk breeze is perfect to have a good time. Plus, the flight tickets and hotel bookings in San Francisco are also cheap and easy on the pockets. You will thoroughly have a good time during your trip to the city. Not to mention how there are some festivals too hosted by the city such as the San Francisco Fringe Festival, Castro Street Fair and Treasure Island Music Festival. You will have to pack your clothes that fit the weather's features. A little layer in terms of clothing would do you good. Try to avoid winters in San Francisco. Even though the hotel prices in San Francisco are cheap, the weather might be unfavourable for tourist activities.
Places to see in San Francisco
San Francisco might be a small city in terms of area, but with the packed tourist attractions, food and living culture and much more, it's tourism easily skyrockets. The assortment of outdoor activities that the city has to offer is mind-blowing. The first thing for you to do in San Francisco as part of your tourist endeavour would be to visit the Golden Gate Bridge. The legendary bridge cannot be missed for the view it offers as it faces the San Francisco Bay. The structure was originally constructed to bridge the gap between San Francisco and Marin County. Of course, Alcatraz Island is also a trip that you shouldn't miss. You will need to take a ferry ride to reach the island of Alcatraz, known for its reputation as a federal prison which housed some of the biggest offenders in the US history. They also had mob boss Al Capone in custody at Alcatraz.
Fisherman's Wharf is another lovely place that would be a fun expedition. The pier is often crowded with tourists as it has a slew of interesting attractions such as San Francisco Maritime National Historic Park as well as the Maritime Museum. More places that should be on your list include Lands End, Muir Woods National Monument, Ferry Building Marketplace, The Castro, Yerba Buena Gardens and more.
Things to do in San Francisco
The best part about a trip to San Francisco is the covey of cool activities that can be undertaken. Right from climbing the popular Twin Peaks to riding the cable cars, you have a lot of interesting things you can take up. In fact, divulging in their food culture would be the best of things to do when in San Francisco.
Food and Restaurants in San Francisco
San Francisco's casual lifestyle brings forth a lovely melange of cuisines and flavours that range from budget to upscale. Thanks to the perfect balance of cuisines and Michelin-starred food establishments, the city has easily turned into one of the best food destinations of the US. It is easily one of the most recognised cities in the country with exquisite food. There are quaint coffee shops, steakhouses, Italian trattorias and of course, Chinatown too. You name a cuisine, and San Francisco has it for you. Their commitment towards encouraging diversity in international cuisine is what makes their food culture so popular. You will be surprised to know that the Bay Area alone has over 50 farmers market experiences in store for you. You should definitely visit the farm-to-table styled food establishment called Chez Panisse. The place brings out flavours with fresh ingredients that would certainly go down well with your system. You should also check out the Ferry Building Marketplace. There are many culinary treats that you will be able to find here.
It will take you more than one trip to San Francisco to cover up all the food establishments in the city. Some of the classics include Boudin's, which has clam chowder as its big seller. You should also visit Tartine Bakery to relish some sweet treats. Speaking of the same, you should also check out Bi-Rite Creamery. The ice cream parlour manages to bring forth some exquisite sweet flavours in a cup with sprinklers and other fun toppings. Golden Gate Bakery is another good establishment for sweet and savoury food. They are known for their egg tarts in the city. Geoff of Ichido is also a good place where you can indulge in some Japanese and Asian seafood. Know that the city is on the Pacific coast and hence, has seafood as its top big seller. At the cafe De Casa, you can revel in some exquisite Brazillian cuisine. At Tacorea, you can find a good array of Mexican dishes. As stated, the city has an array of international cuisine, including Greek and Mediterranean. You can actually find this at the Kokkari Estiatorio. Of course, do not miss their breweries and roasteries at Anchor Brewing Company and Philz Coffee respectively.
How to reach San Francisco (Transportation)
San Francisco has brilliant flight connectivity. In fact, the city does see a lot of demand from Indians as it does have some of the finest universities, including UC Berkeley. Flight connectivity to San Francisco from major Indian metropolitan cities is immaculate. Although there are no direct flights to San Francisco from India, they usually have layovers in international cities. Airlines such as Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines, Turkish Airlines, American Airlines, British Airways, Emirates, Lufthansa, Swiss, to name a few, have dedicated flights flying to San Francisco. The most popular route chosen to fly to San Francisco from India is from cities such as Singapore and Hong Kong. In fact, Cathay Pacific is the most popular airline to take this international route to San Francisco. The flight is perfectly connected to San Francisco and reaches the city in close to 21 hours. Singapore Airlines also has excellent connectivity and stops at Singapore to reach San Francisco. For this route though, you will need a transit visa.
With Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines, you wouldn't have to worry about changing flights in international cities. In fact, the flight simply has layovers in these cities before reaching the destination. Other airlines mentioned also have flights that directly connect to San Francisco with layovers in their respective cities. The flight tickets to San Francisco are quite reasonable. If you do make prior flight bookings to San Francisco, you might be able to get some discounts. There are innumerable online flight deals to San Francisco that you might be able to avail. Depending on the airlines you choose, the ticket price to San Francisco might vary. It would be best to book your flight and hotels in advance. Often it is recommended that you book your flight and hotels in San Francisco together. When you combine the two bookings, you might be in for some fantastic online deals. Even airlines have their own flight deals to San Francisco that you can avail.
About Philippine Airlines
Philippine Airlines which was previously referred to as Philippine AirLines, is the national flag carrier of the Philippines. The airline's headquarters is located at the PNB (Philippine National Bank) Financial Centre in Pasay. Philippine Airlines came into existence in 1941 and is recognised as the first and oldest commercial airline across Asia which continues to operate under its original name. Out of the several secondary hubs that Philippine Airlines operates from, its main hub is at Ninoy Aquino International Airport of Manila. Meanwhile, the other important hubs include Francisco Bangoy International Airport of Davao, Mactan-Cebu International Airport of Cebu and Clark International Airport of Angeles. The airline serves about 31 top destinations that are spread across 54 overseas cities in Southeast Asia, East Asia, North America, Middle East, Europe and Oceania. Basically, Philippine Airlines has a strong domestic route and international route connectivity with a slew of destinations across major hubs. The airline also operates a mixed fleet which comprises of Airbus and Boeing aircraft.
The airline initially called Philippine Air Lines in the time of its genesis, suffered from some serious losses during the 1997 Asian financial crisis. The financial concerns gave rise to complications in the operations of Philippine Airlines, leading to the airline being regarded as the biggest corporate. Due to this incident, the airline's management had to further downsize much of its international operations and completely cut off international routes such as the Middle East and Europe. Eventually, they also had to shut down several domestic routes and flights, except for the flights that were en-route Manila. The fleet size was also drastically reduced as thousands of employees were laid off. The inability to meet with the financial obligations, Philippine Airlines was eventually placed under receivership in 1998. Gradually, the airline started to restore its operations and eventually gain its momentum. By 2007, Philippine Airlines finally managed to get out of the receivership. New management came into existence, following exit from receivership and the airline's operations were further revamped and enhanced.
Philippine Airlines' main vision is to become a premier carrier across Asia and regain its position as one of the top airlines. The airline is owned by PAL Holdings which is a holding company that was established specifically to handle management and operations of Philippine Airlines. The company is basically owned by a bunch of companies that are owned by entrepreneur Lucio Tan. All Nippon Airways' holding company, ANA Holdings, also has a 9.5 percent of shares in Philippine Airlines' holding company. In terms of gross revenue, Philippine Airlines is the ninth-largest corporation prevalent in the Philippines. The same was stated in 2017's Philippines' Top 100 Largest Corporations list. As of 2018, Philippine Airlines' staff strength stands at 6,689, which also includes about 999 pilots and 2,647 cabin crew. In terms of revenue passenger kilometres that is flown, Philippine Airlines stands at the sixty-first spot in the world. As of 2016, the airline has recorded passenger traffic of about 16 million. In its 76-year history, Philippine Airlines showed a net profit of USD 140.3 million for the first time in the year 2007. The airline has been recognised as one of the Most Improved Airlines of 2019, as on the airlineratings.com.
Fleet size of Philippine Airlines
Philippine Airlines' fleet size stands at 72 aircraft. The airline accommodates a mix of wide-body and narrow-body aircraft that have been acquired from five variants of the Airbus family along with a Boeing aircraft. These include Airbus A320, Airbus A321neo, Airbus A330, the wide-body aircraft and Airbus' flagship Airbus A3350 and the Boeing 777. Philippine Airlines' liveries have undergone some massive changes ever since its inception. When it started as Philippine Air Lines (PAL) with the livery stating the same. With many changes in the airline's branding and management, it further went through some noticeable alterations with its liveries too. The most recent livery which is used on all Philippine Airlines flights is a Eurowhite livery. It was established in 1986, following a corporate rebranding of the airline. This specific livery simply has the name Philippines superimposed on the front part of the fuselage and is written in italics. The tail of the aircraft is painted with Philippine Airlines' logo, and the rear of the aircraft has also painted the country's flag. Logo of Philippine Airlines has also been painted on the aircraft's winglets.
Baggage Allowance
Philippine Airlines has reserved some special baggage allowance that depends on the international destinations chosen by the traveller. On the baggage allowance page of the airline's official website, travellers can find a detailed list of categories and the baggage allowance reserved accordingly. For passengers from Asia, the airline allows about 25 kg weight which is incorporated for passengers with the ticket types Economy Supersave, Economy Saver, Economy Value and Economy Flex. As for passengers who are travelling by Premium Economy, the maximum weight for checked baggage that Philippines Airlines allows is 30 kg. The business class passengers receive better baggage allowance as the airline has reserved 35 kg per for checked baggage. Philippine Airlines has mentioned that the passenger cannot exceed the weight of the baggage beyond 32 kg. In case the baggage does exceed the said weight, the airline would ask the passenger to repack and accommodate items that fall within the baggage allowance bracket. Along with the baggage allowance, the dimension of the baggage is also very important and should not exceed 158 cm.
In-flight services
Philippines Airlines might have had to compromise with their crew due to the financial crisis. However, they have since brought back their employees and worked towards upgrading their in-flight services. The airline has enhanced the seating of their fleet with the best reclining seats. Further, they have also accommodated comfortable legroom and armrest. Other perks of Philippines Airlines' in-flight services also include their entertainment systems that have been attached in their long-haul flights. Not to mention how the airline caters to some lip-smacking in-flight meals.
Popular routes and top cities of Philippine Airlines
Philippine Airlines has an extensive international route and domestic route connectivity across several destinations in the world. They are presently serving none domestic destinations along with 53 international destinations. These destinations are spread across 24 countries across a majority of continents. Although many of their operations to a bunch of cities have been suspended for now. Europe and Middle East operations have been suspended for now and might be revoked, depending on the position of the airline. As of 2020, Philippine Airlines has services to cities namely Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney, Phnom Penh, Toronto, Vancouver, Beijing, Quanzhou, Shanghai, Xiamen, Guam, Hong Kong, Denpasar, Jakarta, Fukuoka, Nagoya, Osaka, Sapporo, Tokyo (Haneda and Narita), Macau, Auckland, Bacolod, General Santos, Puerto Princesa, Zamboanga, Doha, Dammam, Riyadh, Singapore, Busan, Jeju, Seoul, Taipei, Bangkok, Dubai, London, Honolulu, Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco, Hanoi, Seattle and Ho Chi Minh City. Further, the airline also has codeshare agreements with airlines such as Air Macau, Cathay Pacific, Hawaiian Airlines, Royal Brunei Airlines, WestJet, All Nippon Airways, China Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Turkish Airlines, XiamenAir, Bangkok Airways, Garuda Indonesia, PAL Express and Vietnam Airlines. With these codeshare agreements, the airline's connectivity has been enhanced with more destinations under its wing. However, they are the main destinations present in the Pacific Ocean and Asia.
Why travel by Philippine Airlines?
Philippine Airlines offers a mileage plan called Mabuhay Miles. The plan basically enables the member to avail several exquisite offers ranging from birthday discounts to freebies and discounts when shopping at some of their affiliated brands. In fact, they also have other offers with respect to travel and accommodation that is sure to attract the attention of prospective members. The miles accumulated can also be converted into flight tickets as one of the offers.
While their mileage plan is quite exciting, some of their other benefits with respect to international route destinations and connectivity within the Philippines is just as excellent. Travellers can book Philippine Airlines flight tickets and pick from some of their destinations which range from Hawaii to Dubai. They basically have a worldwide presence which makes it easier for passengers who wish to visit places that are not well-connected by bigger airlines.
Further, to enhance the passenger's experience with Philippine Airlines, the airline has also worked on improving the user interface of their website. It has introduced several new features online such as web check-in options, updates on flight status and a detailed note on baggage allowance. To know more about the flights, you can check out Philippines Airlines' flight schedule on their website. Passengers can also book a Philippines Airlines flight ticket with the utmost ease. Following the booking of a ticket, the traveller will receive all details regarding their flight, the baggage allowance, the in-flight services and whether they are eligible for airport lounge access. Travellers do not need to be members of the airline's mileage plan to receive some of the benefits and discounts. The same can be availed by booking flight tickets of Philippines Airlines online.
About San Francisco Airport
San Francisco International Airport is located in the San Mateo County of California. It is 21 km away from downtown San Francisco and is located close to San Bruno. The international airport is one of the major getaways for airlines connecting Europe and Asia. After Los Angeles International Airport, San Francisco International Airport is the second busiest airport in California. The airport is also recognised to be the largest in the Bay Area. It stands at the 24th level on the global list of busiest airports. San Francisco International Airport is also the fifth-largest hub for United Airlines. It operates as a transpacific getaway to the country. The second big airlines that it serves base to is Alaska Airlines. Much recently, the airport started serving Virgin America airlines as the base for operations. The airport has four runways made of asphalt and is arranged in parallel intersections. It has been recorded that SFO witnesses about 1,287 flight operations in a day with approximately 470,164 taking place in a year.
About Airport Terminals
San Francisco International Airport has four functioning terminals namely, 1, 2, 3 and international. These are followed by seven concourses of boarding areas and has 115 gates in total. Terminal 1 caters to boarding areas arranged in alphabetical orders of B and D. Terminal 2 accommodates boarding area D and Terminal 3 takes care of boarding areas E and F. This terminal also handles operations of domestic flights. Meanwhile, the international terminal has boarding A and G with the majority of international flight operations along with a handful of domestic flights. Terminal 1 is also referred to as Harvey Milk Terminal 1 which works predominantly for domestic flight operations. Terminal 2 also caters to domestic flights and hosts airlines such as Virgin America and American Airlines. Terminal 2 has been constructed to cater to sustainability. It is considered to be eco-friendly with respect to paper ticketing and parking bays. Level 2 is reserved for domestic boarding and is in area D. Terminal 3 is also domestic but is directly connected to the International Terminal. It has exclusive functions of inbound and outbound flights by United Airlines and flies within the US. International Terminal is divided into level 2 for arrival and baggage claim and level 3 for departures. Level 2 also has check-in and boarding area.
About Airport Authority
Despite its location in the San Mateo County, San Francisco International Airport is owned and managed by the City and County of San Francisco. The airport is an enterprise that falls under the wing of City and County of San Francisco which strives to bring about a safe and secure travel expedition. The management is responsible for the expansion and infrastructural design and development of San Francisco International Airport. The airport authority recently announced plans to switch to sustainable fuels and have already signed agreements with agencies, fuel suppliers and airlines to enable the same. Following the same, the agreement brought together Shell and NkyNGR to supply sustainable fuels for aviation to KLM, Finnair and SAS flights that operate out of San Francisco International Airport. The airport's body has also been working on enhancing the runway structures' sturdiness as well as that of the terminals and buildings to withstand natural calamities, following an earthquake that took place in the county. Plans to expand Terminal 1 is also being conducted and is scheduled to complete by 2024.
Top airlines flying from San Francisco International Airport
San Francisco International Airport has only one Indian airline that operates from the city, Air India. Besides this, the rest of the airlines that operate from the airport are mostly international airlines. The airlines are well-connected to Europe and Asian continents. The domestic connectivity of SFO Airport is also quite good as it reaches almost all cities of the United States. The international airlines operating from San Francisco International Airport are Air Canada, Air China, Air France, Air New Zealand, Alaska Airlines, Alitalia, All Nippon Airways, American Airlines, Asiana Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, China Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Emirates, Fiji Airways, Finnair, Iberia, Lufthansa, LOT Polish Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Scandinavian Airlines, Swiss International Air Lines, Turkish Airlines, United Airlines and Virgin Atlantic. The airport also accommodates a decent number of cargo planes to operate from the vicinity. Carriers such as Asiana Cargo, DHL Aviation, FedEx Express, Korean Air Cargo, Nippon Cargo Airlines are some of the few prominent ones.
Facilities at the San Francisco International Airport
Airport Butler - Airport Butler is a customised concierge service that is available at the airport. You can avail these services as they include assistance with respect to check-in, personal shopping, translations for non-English speaking travellers, lounge reservations, business services and more. You can make prior bookings and customise the necessities that you might need.
In-transit hotel - The airport actually has a luxury hotel present in the proximity of the airport's terminals. With the views of the Bay, the rooms at SFO's Grand Hyatt are beautiful and accessible. You can take the AirTrain to reach the hotel from the airport. The features of the hotel cater to upscaled hospitality.
Medical services - There are dedicated pharmacies and medical rooms at the San Francisco International Airport. The medical rooms with professionals are stationed for emergency cases that would happen at the terminals. You can also make last-minute medical purchases at the airport pharmacy.
Pets and service animals - Travellers who are travelling with pets can avail some services as well. There are reserved areas where the pet can do their business. There are some experts at the airport too who can help you with your pet.
Spas and showers - There is accommodation for luxury services such as spas and showers. You might have to pay some nominal fee before you can get hold of the services. You can use the showers to refresh yourself if you need to go for a professional meeting. There are spas too where you can get a good massage.
A travel agency - There are specific travel agency booths that are present at the San Francisco International Airport. In case there are any last-minute bookings that you need to make, you can directly head to the airport. You can get your complete travel itinerary sorted along with accommodation bookings.
Yoga Room - San Francisco International Airport is the first airport in the world to have a Yoga Room. The room is located in terminal 2, and you can indulge in yoga while you wait for the connecting flight or for the layover period to be over.
SFO museum - The San Francisco International Airport has a museum and a few galleries installed for travellers' entertainment. There are public art, photography exhibits, student art and video arts that can be found at the San Francisco Museum.
AMTs and currency exchange - The airport has ATM kiosks located at convenient spots. The terminals also have a foreign exchange booth at the departure zones and arrivals. It would be very convenient for international travellers.
Airport lounges – The airport also caters to a slew of lounges located at various departure zones of all the terminals. There are first-class and business-class lounges for travellers holding the respective flight tickets. The airport also has a VIP lounge, meeting rooms and other spaces where one can avail luxury services and hospitality.
WiFi and internet – The airport provides free WiFi services for travellers. You can visit the information desk to get more details on how you can procure the service. Not to mention how the airport also has internet cafes where you can get your work done.
How to reach San Francisco International Airport
Bus
SamTrans, a transit agency of San Mateo County, has dedicated buses that connect to the San Francisco International Airport. You will have to check out their schedules and the routes to know which ones would reach you to the SFO Airport. They can be accessed from the arrivals or baggage counter of the airport.
Car and rentals
The airport sees good connectivity by road, and you can always use rentals or taxis to reach the San Francisco International Airport. You can actually find booths and counters to book transport from the airport itself. Apps such as Lyft and Uber are also available and would be perfect to use when at the airport terminal's arrival section. If you are driving down to SFO Airport, you should opt for the short freeway that links the US 101 with Interstate 280. As the airport is on the US Route 101, this is the most favourable route to reach the San Francisco International Airport. The airport also has short term and long term parking facilities available, in case you plan to do on a day tour.
Ferry
A favourable way to reach the San Francisco International Airport is to take the ferry. From the San Francisco Bay, there are ferry services that go to Oakland and Alameda. You can reach the ferry by taking SFO Airport's shuttle bus services. This can be found at the South San Francisco Ferry Terminal.
