Triangle Trip

As a frequent flyer of United in and out of San Francisco International Airport (SFO) Terminal 3, here are some hot tips for you:

1.  When flying on a domestic flight out of Terminal 3, you should always go through TSA security checkpoint near Gate 74 and 75. Gate 74 and 75 is located between the domestic and international terminals. It is called out “Boarding Areas” (the bottom red dot) if you refer to the map below.

The Gate 74 and 75 checkpoint is to the left of the Ticketing area, opposite side of the regular boarding area. No one is aware of this security checkpoint as it is geared towards travelers coming from the international terminal or BART. Lines here are always shorter than the Premier lines.

2.  When you are in transit through SFO from domestic to international terminal, the best approach is via the bus interlink. The bus is located near the Yankee Pier restaurant or Gate 72. Referring to the map above, it is the 2nd red dot from the top. You will need to go through a door near the information booth, then down the stairs to the waiting area. The bus comes every 15 minutes or so. Going by bus means you will be able to avoid going out of Terminal 3, taking the Airtrain, and go through security screening at the International terminal.

Try these two tips and let us know your thoughts.

I have been commuting coast to coast for over 10 years – that’s between New York and California. I have flown out of JFK to LAX and SFO months at a time. There were only two carriers back in the 90s… now we’ve five options:

1. American
2. Delta
3. JetBlue
4. United
5. Virgin Ameirca

I have experienced all carriers and want to share my experience with everyone. Here are the plus’s and minuses for each:

1. American:

PLUSES:  Price – usually cheaper than Delta and UA. Coach seats are pretty roomy vs. the other four.

MINUSES:  The AA terminal at JFK is a zoo. Planes are older.

2. Delta

PLUSES:  Price – usually cheaper than UA. New seats inside the plane – leather. Live TV in coach. If you’re a Medallion Gold or Platinum, 80% chance to be upgraded to First.

MINUSES:  If you buy a low fare ticket, you will not get full mileage in your bank. Skyteam points are not as valuable as Star Alliance or OneWorld.

3. JetBlue

PLUSES:  Newer planes. Flights are cheap. Free live TV. Food for sale is decent.

MINUSES:  Have to fly to OAK or SJC vs. SFO. Long Beach or Burbank vs. LAX. No first class upgrades.

4. United

PLUSES:  Star Alliance points and UA offers 100% on all flights regardless of the price of tickets. JFK terminal is extremely clean. If upgraded to buniess, service is awesome – personal DVD player, plugs on all business class seats, etc.

MINUSES:  UA divided plane into 50% business, 50% coach. As a result, there are not that many seats available for sale in coach. Tickets are generally expensive.

5. Virgin Ameirca

PLUSES:  Plugs on all seats, games and TV on your seats, comfortable throughout the cabin, ticket can be pretty cheap as well.

MINUSES:  Limited flights throughout the day. Can only bank Virgin points.

Summary

In summary, you should fly Delta if you have Medallion status as you will get upgraded. Fly United if you have enough points to spend on the upgrades. Go with Jetblue if you’re cost conscious or don’t mind flying to alternative airports.

A couple months ago I thought I had planned it perfectly.  Spend Christmas and New Years abroad with friends and also maintain my airline status with the miles incurred for the trip.  I did the math a couple times to make sure I would be guaranteed airline status for 2009.  But today while logging into my United account and seeing my mileage summary reset to zeroes, it suddenly occurred to me that my return leg would be in the new year and not count toward status for 2009.  So I’m short the 7,000 miles that my return leg back home covers.  Darn it!  

So moral of the story is this: if you are planning an year end trip that doubles as a mileage run to maintain airline status, make sure you spend New Years at home.