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City Guide - San Francisco - Air | ||
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Air San Francisco International Airport (SFO) Tel: (650) 821 4001. Fax: (650) 821 4004. Website: www.flysfo.com Situated 25km (15 miles) southeast of the city off Routes 101 and 280, San Francisco International Airport is the fifth busiest in the USA and eighth busiest in the world, handling 1260 flights daily. In 1998, passengers numbered 39,292,350 or 107,650 daily. Major airlines: More than 50 major airlines operate in and out of SFO including United Airlines (tel: (800) 241 6522; website: www.ual.com), American Airlines (tel: (800) 433 7300; website: www.aa.com), British Airways, China Airlines, Canadian Airlines International, Japan Airlines, Lufthansa German Airlines, Qantas Airways and Singapore Airlines. Domestic airlines provide regular flights to the rest of the USA. They include Alaska Airlines, Continental Airlines, Delta Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines and United Airlines. Airport facilities: These include banks, ATMs, bureaux de change and numerous bars and restaurants, gift and speciality shopping, including duty-free outlets. Five public information booths and a Bureau of Consular Affairs are on site. Car hire operators include Alamo, Avis, Budget, Hertz and Thrifty. A US$2.4 billion construction programme on a new international terminal, with 24 additional gates, quicker baggage handling, expanded duty free shopping and 3200 new parking spaces has recently opened and is the biggest in America. Business facilities: A business fax centre located in the Airport Travel Agency provides fax services, airline tickets, lockers, luggage belts, shipping boxes and hotel reservations. A number of airline lounges are available for frequent flyer card holders. Conference and business facilities are available at the Global Communications Centre and the AT&T International Calling Centre in the international terminal. Transport to the city: The Ground Transport Information Service (tel: (800) 736 2008) will provide details of travel to and from the airport free of charge. Shuttles, buses, taxis and limousines are readily available. American Airporter Shuttle (tel: (415) 202 0733) provides a 24-hour, door-to-door service. The cost is US$12. SFO Airporter Inc (tel: (415) 641 3100, ext 27) charges US$10 and provides a service downtown every 15-30 minutes (0615-2400). Taxis are metered and the fare to the downtown area is around US$30. San Mateo County Transit, or SamTrans (tel: (800) 660 4287) runs bus services to the Transbay Terminal at Mission Street. Journey times vary between 25 minutes and 45 minutes depending on traffic. Public transportation leaves from the blue zone on the airport's lower level. Oakland International Airport (OAK) Tel: (510) 577 4245 or 4015. Fax: (510) 636 1063. Website: www.oaklandairport.com Located across the Bay, 32km (20 miles) from downtown San Francisco, Oakland receives mainly domestic but some international charter flights. Major airlines: Around a dozen airlines fly to and from OAK. They include United Airlines, Alaska Airlines, Aloha Airlines, America West, Continental, Delta, Mexicana Airlines and South West Airlines. Airport facilities: These include banks, ATMs, shoeshine, internet access, travel insurance, lockers, duty-free shopping, currency exchange and food outlets. Car hire firms include Avis, Budget, Dollar, Hertz and National. Business facilities: Fax services are available at both terminals and a corporate jet centre claims to provide the only full-service private jet hire facilities on the West Coast. Aerzone has opened a number of private mini-offices close to departure gates housing personal computers, fax and internet services. The airport can provide details. Transport to the city: AC Transit (tel: (510) 817 1717) runs the TransBay Express providing a 24-hour service between OAK and Mission and First in San Francisco, for US$5, picking up at the front of both terminals. The service runs every 30 minutes (0500-2100) and hourly thereafter. AC Transit's line 58 connects OAK to the Alameda/Oakland Ferry (tel: (510) 522 3300), which runs services to San Francisco's ferry terminal and Pier 39 at Fisherman's Wharf. Numerous shuttles include Bayporter Express (tel: (415) 467 1800), which charges US$23 into San Francisco plus US$10 for each additional passenger. Journey times vary between 30 minutes and 60 minutes depending on traffic. An AirBART shuttle provides services between OAK and the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) train station for journeys into San Francisco. Approximate flight times to San Francisco: From London is 11 hours 10 minutes; from New York is 6 hours 25 minutes; from Los Angeles is 1 hour 15 minutes; from Toronto is 5 hours 35 minutes and from Sydney is 13 hours and 25 minutes. Arrival/departure tax: US$68.10 but included in ticket. |