Closest thruway station to SFO airport.

[BCL]

Quotes aren't working for me, either, unless I go into HTML.

If I had to catch a 2:35 PM intercontinental flight out of SFO and I got to Transbay at 12:45 PM, do you think I'll make it? Or should I not book that flight? It's midday, so hopefully traffic wouldn't be that bad.

Google Maps says it's a 6 minute walk to the Embarcadero BART station and then a 39 minute ride (every 15 minutes) to the airport. Then you'd need to get to your terminal. If you actually get there at 12:45, I'd say no problem whatsoever. If you're late then you might have some problems and be prepared to catch a taxi. I've been there, although it was early morning with zero traffic. Midday, traffic should be light, but BART doesn't move any faster.

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/San+Francisco,+Howard+St,+San+Francisco,+CA+94105/San+Francisco+Int'l+Airport,+SFO,+San+Mateo+County,+CA/@37.7117073,-122.5005154,11z/data=!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x80858064da5b23bd:0x6f10e97653b2de2a!2m2!1d-122.3931!2d37.789571!1m5!1m1!1s0x808f779af8d0e35b:0xf608bca35ccc6295!2m2!1d-122.392534!2d37.6159!3e3

If you're all prepared with a boarding pass printed and nothing to check in, then you should be all set.

 

[roadman3313]

You should be fine if you are on time, however you'd be out of luck if there were any delays. Make a Plan A and a Plan B just in case.

Domestic = Fine as long as you have all your documents printed and just have carry on luggage.

International = I'd allow at least 2-3 hours minimum from the terminal to your flight to allow for travel and security/check-in time.

 

[tp49]

For an international flight? No, no and oh heck no! I'd book either a later flight or earlier bus. You'd be cutting it way too close to the check in cut off by the time you got to Transbay with check in lines what they can be for an intercontinental (international) flight you very well might have some serious issues making the flight.

 

[BCL]

For an international flight? No, no and oh heck no! I'd book either a later flight or earlier bus. You'd be cutting it way too close to the check in cut off by the time you got to Transbay with check in lines what they can be for an intercontinental (international) flight you very well might have some serious issues making the flight.

I've actually arrived with maybe 30 minutes to spare for an international flight. However, that day there was an extremely short line at security. We did take BART and I was yelling at my wife to hurry up.

I've also arrived at the SFO international terminal on BART where I didn't think we'd make it because of a long line around a holiday. However, we had a young child and basically got to skip the lines. It wasn't an international flight, but the plane came from Mexico so it was parked at the International Terminal without repositioning to a domestic gate.

I don't recommend cutting it close. However, my wife always finds "one more thing" that she thinks we need to do before leaving and she thinks arriving early anywhere is wasting time.

 

[TiBike]

Security is usually faster on the international side -- it's the same screening process but usually lower passenger loads. There are exceptions, though. If you're flying out of international terminal G -- Star Alliance mostly -- you can go around to the domestic side and walk from one side to the other once you're through. You might be able to do that at terminal A too by now -- haven't flown from that side in a while.

Reasonably pleasant, as these things go. SFO screening is done by Covenant, not TSA, and it makes a huge difference.

A lot depends on the carrier. I've seen United stop check in for people while they were trying to work out problems at the counter, tell them it was too close to boarding time so come back tomorrow. If you're checking luggage, forget about it. Doesn't matter if you were standing in line for two hours, once the 45 minute cut off hits, that's it. If you're on a foreign flag carrier, you'll probably find a little more flexibility, but there's only so much they can do.

I connect to SFO via BART a lot. If I was downtown and had less than 2 hours to make a flight, I wouldn't panic, but I wouldn't plan it that way either. Unless I had a viable Plan B for getting where I needed to be later that day.

 

[NorthShore]

SFO screening is done by Covenant, not TSA, and it makes a huge difference.

Who/what is covenant?

 

[TiBike]

Covenant Security is a private contractor that handles screening at SFO and some other US airports under TSA supervision. Airports have the option of using TSA-approved contractors instead of TSA personnel.

It was part of the bill that established TSA, which also mandated that TSA employees be U.S. citizens. When it was under discussion, the screening at SFO was handled by a company that hired a high proportion of non-citizens, predominantly Filipinos. The idea that there was going to be a mass firing of completely competent people was not well received here, and in fact the workers threatened to strike and shut the airport down. Senator Feinstein was instrumental in negotiating the compromise that allowed airports to use contract companies under certain conditions.

If you go through SFO, you'll notice that the uniforms they wear are slightly different than standard TSA ones. In terms of service, the contrast with airports like LAX is night and day. Covenant screeners get the job done efficiently and without the government attitude.

I fly with a bicycle packed in a hard case a lot, and it's almost always opened for inspection after I check it in. At SFO, it's always been repacked properly and a note left inside telling me who did it. At LAX, it's done anonymously and often incompetently. Twice, my bike was damaged in the process and had to be repaired on the other end. Covenant's people do a better job and are way more pleasant.

 

[BCL]

Covenant Security is a private contractor that handles screening at SFO and some other US airports under TSA supervision. Airports have the option of using TSA-approved contractors instead of TSA personnel.

I think SFO is now their only airport security client. They had several other contracts but lost them over the years.

There's a listing of the outside contractors and which airports at the bottom of this page. It mentions that Covenant received the contract for Sioux Falls, SD airport in 2006 but Trinity Technology Group took over in 2011.

http://www.tsa.gov/stakeholders/announcements

 

[jis]

Yup. Covenant only has SFO. And frankly, I don't see a huge difference between Covenant in SFO and TSA in MCO. MCO gets to handle way more clueless family types who are departing after a chat with the famous mouse and his friends.

 

[Ryan]

Continuing the off-topic drift, wasn't MCO contractor based at some point?

I was hopeful flying out of there on our last trip, and was disappointed to get the regular service, complete with the clueless family types to make it more fun.

 

[jis]

Getting through MCO at the popular family hours is no fun at all, unless you are lucky enough to get through either Clear or TSA Pre. That's why I try to take the 6:30am flights if I can. even in spite of being TSA Pre. The TSA guys and gals are an order more friendly than the surly bunch in the New York area airports.