Why SFO's $2.5 Billion Logistics and Amenities Upgrade Made It WSJ's Best Airport of 2022 | WSJ
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- čas přidán 7. 06. 2024
- San Francisco International Airport was named WSJ’s best large airport this year, thanks in part to a $2.5 billion upgrade of its Harvey Milk Terminal 1. WSJ toured behind-the-scenes operations and tested the amenities to see what makes SFO stand out.
Photo illustration: Adele Morgan
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I'm in the architectural / engineering space. I've done a number of projects for SFO. To me, the difference comes from the top. When we work for SFO, their instruction to their consultant is always, "Bring your 'A' game!" The management there genuinely cares about building and maintaining an airport that can best serve the passengers. Even though they are government employees, they have none of the typical DMV vibe.
The 2 airports on top of my list are Dubai and the new Istanbul airport, so much spaces. The Dubai airport has comfy long lounge chairs for long layover, there's even a sleeping section with deem lights. Even Paris CDG offered a long layover section with lots of comfy sofa with charging station, a paid shower service at the airport hotel. They finally had English speaking volunteers to guide visitors while I stopover for 10 hours in June 2019.
@@___beyondhorizon4664 of course, Dubai doesn't have to worry about lack of oil and natural gas for jet fuel and generating electricity.
This is an awesome insight. Thanks for sharing!
@@___beyondhorizon4664 thanks for sharing about the airports in Dubai and Istanbul! I have not been to either. Of course, they are oranges compared to SFO's apple; i.e. it's difficult to compare American public facilities (and public works projects that build these public facilities) to those in countries like Dubai and Turkey (and Communist China, for example). In those places, the government can nearly do whatever they want with no political obstacles.
Specifically they are San Francisco civil service employees. My ex worked in Noise Abatement at SFO and I worked at Port of SF. These are two of the three City departments that generate a profit for the City and County of San Francisco.
Limiting announcements and providing plenty of seating with chargers is what every airport needs.
Well, that is what LAX needed. Constant announcement everywhere for everything.
@@battlefield3112011yeah I think they are changing that with the LAX remodel
Flying out of SFO during the pandemic was wild...It was so quiet and empty like walking in an art gallery or museum.
Or a morgue.
So happy my home airport is getting recognition - it’s well deserved. I rarely have issues there.
Me too!
Went there two months ago. It was indeed surprisingly nice for a US airport! The bathroom was very clean, modern, and enormous. No gap between stalls, too! Finally we have 21st century public bathroom in the US lol
The avg ticket prices are higher because there are way more long distance flights from SFO than Oakland/San Jose. Southwest operates about 70% of OAK, and they are majority nonstop /shorter flights
I'm sure they controlled for length of flights when comparing prices between the airports.
@@hiiipowerbootylicker7790but you also have to consider that many non budget airlines fly out of sfo. southwest flying at oak basically makes the mean way lower regardless of distance
Quiet airport really caught me off guard once as they didn't announce boarding. But I love the idea it becoming normalized.
I missed my flight in istambul because i didnt know they dont announce flights :D
@@zukacs that's rough
@@zukacs don’t you already have the boarding time printed on your pass? And on top of that there are screens displaying boarding times for all flights literally everywhere you eyes can see
@@flugoaway3398 i was not even 18 and it was the old ata turk airport not the new one)) i knew my time but was waiting for announcment while reading a book
SFO is the best airport in the US. It’s quiet, you have enough comfortable space/table in the terminal, plus their WiFi is fast
GO SFO!!! It's so easy to get in and out and it's very clean, quiet, and the food is awesome! We love SFO!!
I ❤ SFO. It’s so quiet and they have nice vendors. Also, you can connect between terminals without going thru security
SFO food is elite - best variety I've seen, and also way more vegetarian/vegan options than any other airport.
Quiet airport is such a brilliant feature. Feels like fewer and fewer people rely on announcements to get to where they should be going anyway nowadays.
90% of the time I couldn't even understand what the announcement is saying. Not to mention most people have earphone/headphone all all the time nowadays.
So much beautiful art throughout Terminal 1 as well. Also being connected to BART directly is a top feature for the airport
I just wanna say, I just been in this airport last december and the experience were amazing, so clean, big, comfy , quiet and in order a beautiful airport
I travel through alot of airports… and so far SFO has been (and especially is now) my favorite airport by far
SFO is ideal size for me. Big enough to attract major airlines to generate competitive fare (at least for international flights). But not too big like ATL and ORD, too busy like JFK and NEW, too spread out like DAL, too cramped like CLT, or too worn out like DTW (don't know if it got renovated but I remember buckets around the waiting area to catch rainwater). That said, when I go overseas, I avoid connecting within the US. It is not a pleasant experience to fly within the US or be sitting in a US airport.
Which year when you experienced DTW?
DTW is pretty nice now.
Was just in SFO the other week, looked great! Not that it affects me regularly but having the terminals connected will be a huge plus. Impressive baggage and security systems, hope this comes to EWR soon.
I think one thing that is truly unique about the airport that I love is the art exhibit and the museum
Funny, I fly out of SFO, particularly Terminal 1, during and after remodeling. I always loved it but now I really am thankful my home airport is my favorite and the smoothest
Best thing about SFO is that there's an In-n-Out right across the street :P
Clean bathrooms are something I look for.
We haven’t visit SFO for over two decades now. Last time we flew to SFO in summer 2002. I remember that day. That was so long time ago.
If only US train infrastructure had this much investment and innovation
Never going to happen. U.S cities are built around highways. There are no cities other than New York where there is a train station within the city. In Europe, the cities were built around train tracks. Every major city have a train station near by. They're not going to pour money into trains when the stations are just as far away as airports.
@@maplenerd22 I’m plenty aware, hence the “if only”
So happy to see this! I think that they clearly hired the same people from Heathrow and hong Kong and asked how they can do that... But better 🙂
I'll definitely fly through SFO more if they offer sparkling water.
Really? You'd just go there for something you could pick up in a bottle? Surely the taxi to SFO makes up for what you save on water xD
It is genuinely great.
When I came back from Asia in September 2022, unfortunately I still had to exit the international terminal to go though security again for my domestic connection. I will really look forward to the day when that won’t be necessary.
Hope the Quiet Airport movement catches-on.
Wow Tnx bro good
wow amazing 🤩
I'm flying into SFO from LAX tomorrow morning!
I love SFO!!!
She just dropped her stuff and walked away 💀 2:12
Good restaurants and 24/7 service. People with late night flights also gets hungry.
I went through terminal 1 when it was still under construction. I was on my way to Boston for my grandmother's funeral in early 2021.
At Bangkok airport, to fly to many destinations, the crews will make passengers pour away any water they have before entering the gate lounge, including water bought after the security (which is very stupid.) Therefore, the airport has to provides water fountains/refillers at every gate.
Good for you
So, when will I be able to walk between terminals one and two post-security?
WSJ went to check why they gave SFO the best airport title?
The US is horrible for connecting international flights. Fly from country "A" to USA to get a connecting flight to country "B" means having to collect checked luggage, go through customs and immigration then go to the counter to recheck bags and go through security again then to the gate. Most countries allow going from one plane to the other without the hassle and wasting tons of time in lines.
Airports are only starting to implement the idea of planning foot traffic to reduce congestion. The reduced noise and encouragement to use earphones is a great idea. I wished that when it came to boarding, that airlines board in a more orderly fashion and have passenger sat in sections prior to boarding so there isn't a mad rush and eliminates the delay on the airplane when putting luggage in the overhead compartments.
Great Job Travel SFO
Shout out to Hensel Phelps and the construction trades that make all this possible!
Best airport in the United States. Not even close in the world.
Depends what you think defines best..Also doesn’t really matter though most U.S airports get the job done quite well and many are being upgraded….Remember we built our nice airports way back before those poor nations finally got money and coped by building fancy advanced beautiful airports.
Well that's because our airports are for getting people from point A to point B. There's no good reason and it's a waste of money to spend like Singapore or Dubai. Those cities are more focused on gaining international relevance by building super extravagant projects
If you have travelled beyond USA, or regularly within USA and Europe, you’ll see how miserable US airports are. SFO is the only USA airport that felt I was in Europe or anywhere else in the the developed world.
Interesting that they didn't mention that SFO is the only major airport that uses private security instead of TSA. How about that.
2:23 insane way to tie up shoe
You’re giving a skewed view of SFO. It’s helpful Terminal 1 has been upgraded, but when I recently flew out of the Delta Terminal the infrastructure (power plugs, USB charge ports) looked like they haven’t been upgraded in at least 15 years. Quite surprised SFO was able to capture #1 in your rankings.
Worked on ramp in that terminal, and the bag belt was the WORST! We always wondered why it cost so much money, but it was the slowest and jammed up every time. 😬
It is the worst now, or it was before remodeling?
It seems like the price comparison is not a fair comparison. I would want to see the equivalent route from the competing airports to a destination compared to SFO. otherwise comparing regional flights to international flights provides no relevant information.
Could use some of these changes at IAH
What about MCO Orlando’s new terminal C ?
Traveling with a kid as a single military parent is hard. I try to make notes on which airport facility is better. I prefer SFO, just because it’s easy to navigate around, it’s innovative, it’s clean and it is quiet.
New New Istanbul airport build in 2029 is very impressive. It's huge!
I thought IST already got a new airport.
@@gettyyoung46 I mean Istanbul new airport was completed and in operation since April 2019. I was there in June 2019
1:09 the guy in the green hat is a top 10 guilty gear strive player
I’m just waiting for them to upgrade their bigger terminals
New system....wow....my luggage was in SFO for over three weeks.....at least it was delivered to me....
Can the SFO management please take over Toronto YYZ
As a visually impaired person, I have to say that “quiet airports” are really tough. Especially because the font on gate/boarding displays is often quite small. I’m sure some announcements are unnecessary but at least one or two boarding calls would be much appreciated
This is a great insight. Thanks for sharing!
Sfo Is the best !
Professional Class Travel Invest
jfk needs to take notes
I love most everything about the new Terminal 1, except for the automatic x-ray machines. These automatic x-ray machines operate way too slowly and completely slow down the line.
SFO and MSP are my favorite airports. I like SEA but it always seems like it's under construction. I avoid ATL as much as possible. lol
abc has always been a fav
I live so close to SFO like 10 minutes but always fly out of SJC or OAK because they are cheaper
hello pablo
But how many Tortas Frontera locations do they have? Can't really be #1 vs O'Hare without that.
The on-time arrival stats for SFO is very misleading. Of course it is on-time, you don't have nearly as many flights as before the pandemic.
What SFO needs is more officers at immigration line. Doesn’t matter how fast your luggages get out if you stuck in line for hours.
That's not the "immigration line". It's Border Control. Look into getting Global Entry to go through Border Control quicker.
That airport is huge.. and i hates it during the transfer
It's "Minneapolis-Saint Paul," not "Minneapolis."
Ok but what about the mess in terminal 2 and 3!? For the first time, I got lost in an airport-not #1 in my opinion
Great airport, great host.
Limit families to their own corrals though.
it's gotta be no.1 airport in the states cuz the asian ones like incheon, Singapore, and ones in china and japan are way more like incomparably better
Its takes fewer syllables to say Wall Street Journal than "W. S. J." lol
Good, but we also want better ATC for safety
Put in an airtag
nice but 2.5 billion???
Lol it's like 25% more expensive to fly into sfo instead of Oakland. That's issue number one
Why do you keep saying “W-S-J”’s rating instead of “our rating”
As an employee The bag system is the worse Just ask the passengers. It’s takes the passengers an hour and 15 mins to get their bag once the plane is parked. The baggage system is always jammed. The baggage system is the worse at Harvey terminal This video or the directors are a lie LoL
Ask why a lot of the food and service vendors are considering going in strike ...
Is this Airport in GTA SA?
I just came back to SFO from an Asian trip and noticed the Quiet Airport screen on Nov. 26, 2022. While waiting for my ride home by Door 4 of the International Departure Hall, I asked a woman playing a video on speaker of her phone if she's aware of the "sign" and following message encouraging people to use headphone. I was not appreciated and had an earful of responses.
I certainly enjoy sfo much more than lax
00:12 WSJ must have not been to SFO during heavy traffic. The roadway is built like a horseshoe (one way in one way out) where everyone has to drive by each terminal before exiting (unlike LAX). I have to say Harvey Milk terminal is nice, it could use more restaurants, it is nice though, but can’t match Changi Airport in Singapore.
0.56
*SFO sign:* Speakers OFF, Earbuds ON. Your music, Your video, Your phone calls are for *YOUR* ears only!
To all coffee shop owners: *Please check out this sign.* 👆
To be honest if you are going to make a list of Best Airports of 2022 but only include US, then name the list Best US Airports of 2022. World is not just USA.
It's an American thing. Consider the title bestow on the team winning final of of the sport season.
I don't know, I felt like Oakland was way more reliable and a quicker experience altogether. Ghetto for sure, but when you want the airport to be a minimal part of your travels, I always picked OAK.
a lot of my friends fly Oakland and they say it’s better than San Jose and sfo for no delay times
One big advantage OAK has over SFO is the weather. Fog is a major contributor to delay at SFO. That said, OAK is likely stain by the troublesome city. Otherwise, it's quite a convenient airport to travel through.
We should contract FedEx or UPS to ship traveler luggage for safety and profitable on efficiency for all alliance companies
So I'm supposed to live with having my luggage arrive from across the coast in 7 days? No thanks.
Isn’t $2.5B without adding any extra runways extremely expensive for an amenities and logistics upgrade? For reference the Golden Gate Bridge took $530M in 2020 dollars to build. The cost of this upgrade could have funded 4-5x Golden Gate Bridges. How did they fund this upgrade?
4:00 carbonizing water is not expensive .
Average ticket prices are higher...... whatever. I only go to Japan, so no need of San Jose or Oakland. LAX is cheaper in that sense, but I dislike LAX for so many crazy travelers and lack of decent restaurants.
If ALT is now 3, then your survey is already garbage.
Nice but it's still nothing compared to Changi airport.
The young journalist is just as sooooo patronizing as all young journalists are.
why? to get award from wsj and because wsj transits here most of the time
$8 for renting a bag trolley is pure robbery
I have been to 57 countries and I believe the U.S. is the only country where you have to pay to use a trolley.
Best US** airports, cuz…. Changi still outclasses globally.
2.5 billion huh... so faucets and bag system is very cool but sure seems like its a lot of money to me. I will say I sure prefer Oak and SJO to do the flying I do.
Times have changed. Just renovating a home kitchen can cost 30k.
Sparkling water upsets my stomach and will give me burps during the flight.
Please consider adding cold brew to the refilling stations.