Michael

No major fog problems usually in March.

Many commuter planes start leaving at about 6:30 am and flights start arriving from LA and other commuter routes starting at about 7:30 am. That is over by 11 am. Then most commuter planes start leaving again after 4:30 pm and start arriving again after 5:30pm.

When flying to Europe, most planes leave by 11 am and return from Europe after 7:30 pm.

Most Asian flights leave after 3:30 pm and return after 2pm although some do arrive during your time slot.

Most Canadian and Mexican flights leave before 11 pm and arrive after 2pm.

So the main rush hours at SFO are in the morning or evening.

fatbrit

No guarantees, but I'd say much less likely than more likely.

md95065

Actually it *is* rush hour for international arrivals.

There are a lot of international flights that arrive in precisely that time window and you stand a good chance of having 3 or 4 flights all arrive within a few minutes of each other.

That having been said it still shouldn't take more than about 45 minutes to get through immigration unless you get sent to secondary for some reason.

Giantaxe

Not at that time of year. The fog banks don't start until the weather warms up a little - usually from late April until September. Rainstorms, however, do cause delays at SFO due to the relative proximity of the two parallel runways. Even when there are no delays at other Bay Area airports, SFO can be plagued with rain-related delays.

cluedweasel

My tuppence worth. Last time I flew into SFO was last April. My entire journey was LHR to SFO and then onto RDM (Redmond / Bend) all with United.

My luggage wasn't checked through. I had to collect it at SFO, go through customs, take the bags to a United check-in and then pass through security again. The security part was the longest by far but it was very busy (around 2:00pm on a Tuesday). From getting off the London 'plane to getting to the gate for the Redmond 'plane was about 80 minutes.

Neither the POE nor Customs were any trouble at all. Security was slow, but that was more down to people not knowing the procedures.

Norri

Luggage is never checked through when arriving in the US you always have to follow the procedure you outline at POE.

md95065

Depends exactly what you mean by "checked through".

Yes, you always have to claim your bags and go through customs with them at the port of entry but if they have been checked through to your final destination you don't normally have to do anything more than drop them onto the conveniently located baggage belt for connecting flights immediately after you leave the customs and immigration area.

Norri

That is exactly what I meant.

FFS this a two page thread about wether 2 hrs is enough to get through immigration and get on a domestic flight at SFO the answer is yes unless the wrath of god is against you.

Folinskyinla

Hi:

A mild chuckle.

The Pacific Ocean off of Northern California is often foggy. However, the Bay itself is quite sheltered and has little fog. Lets put it this way, the Spanish galleons sailed up and down the Pacific Coast between the Philippines and South America for two hundred years and never saw the bay! The Spanish discovered the bay when they sent a LAND expedition up north.

So, what happens in the Bay Area is that it is often [but not always] of the time foggy right on the Pacific Coast while the majority of the Bay Area will be clear. Since San Francisco is at the northern tip of "The Peninsula" it is often foggy, but Downtown and the Mission will be clear while the Outer Richmond is socked in solid. I have driven over the Golden Gate Bridge many times where it was the only part of the trip that was foggy. I recall once sailing in the Bay in clear sunshine but there was strip of fog from the Golden Gate to the westside of Alcatraz Island -- we sailed up the clear east side of Alcatraz to Angel Island.

SFO is located on the bay side south of San Francisco -- and absent winter storms, it was never foggy. To be honest, LAX has more problems with fog since it is right on Santa Monica Bay. In the 60's, it was common for LAX to be shut down by fog and for flights from Europe to be diverted to Ontario Airport 50 miles inland and then for the passengers and baggage to be bussed to LAX to clear customs and immigration.

[BTW, the thing that has always intrigued me is that the Bay Area has THREE major airports in close proximity -- SFO, San Jose and Oakland -- and the traffic patterns are interesting. Same for NYC with JFG, LGA and EWR].

Giantaxe

And there was, bizarrely, a flight at one point that went from Oakland to SFO. United, iirc, and for the purposes of repositioning aircraft. At that time it was the shortest flight in the US. Note the second comment under this article:

http://blogs.wsj.com/middleseat/2008...hts-in-the-us/

Poppy girl

I fly out of SFO a few times a year and its an easy airport to navigate, when you are you going in March I am flying United march to the UK next month.

Oh the food is el-crapo you will be in transit so the food lounges are not to sharp thats for sure, I never realised how spoilt us Brits are when it comes to our airports they are amazing next to the US ones.

Dubai is great and Singapore ..I like to shop and nose around.

Cat Whisperer

There is a make to order sandwich bar there that has the most fantastic bread. I can honestly say it was the best (although pricey) sandwich I have ever had in my 7 years in the US. The waiting area overlooks the runways, so if you do sail through immigration etc, you will not be bored if you find yourself with time on your hands.

msi geek

Flghts into SFO from the pacific fly along the jet streams with very good tail wind. Hence, they reach the californian coast slightly earlier than scheduled. However, weather conditions at SFO means they end up spending a lot of time over the airport before landing.

Folinskyinla

Hi:

I remember that the old PSA had flights out of Oakland and SFO that stopped in San Jose and then continued down to Burbank.

Steerpike

Poppy Girl - I fly through SFO several times a year, and I'm always shocked at how good the food is, especially compared to any other airport I've ever been to (including LHR). There's Fung-Lum (Chinese); Boudin's bakery; Firewood Grill (pizza, etc); Ebisu (Japanese); Emporio Rulli (great panini's); Harbor Village (Chinese); a ton of Peet's Coffee places. Maybe it depends on the terminal; I did fly Delta to JFK recently and there was not much in the way of good food in their terminal; but I mainly fly United and find their terminals have great food. The international terminal is best, though.

As for "crowded" - I've flown into JFK a few times recently, and also Philadelphia ... THOSE are crowded airports! SFO strikes me as an airport built for the crowds that never came (ever since the recent expansion). Phoenix airport was even more 'empty', though, a couple of weeks ago.

Regarding the 'fog' - the fog occurs mainly in June/July. But also remember - SF's airport is not in SF - it is about 15 miles south, in a completely different climate.