SFO British Airways Terraces Lounge
SFO British Airways Terraces Lounge
January 2011
After our fabulous Singapore Airlines RTW last September, Mrs. SFO and I are off to Thailand for 9 days. 270K AAdvantage miles and we're excited about trying Cathay Pacific First Class TPAC service, SFO-HKG and connecting to BKK. The Emirates A380 BKK-HKG leg was an add on purchase after CX dumped First from this regional route.
-Cathay Pacific check-in and BA Terraces Lounge SFO
-Cathay Pacific First Class SFO-Hong Kong... our private 15 hour charter
-Cathay Pacific "The Wing" First Class Lounge HKG
-Cathay Pacific Business Class Hong Kong-Bangkok
-The Peninsula Bangkok
-Bangkok
-Thai Airways Royal Silk Domestic Lounge BKK
-Thai Airways Business Class Bangkok-Chiang Rai
-Four Seasons Tented Camp Golden Triangle
-Thai Airways Royal Silk Domestic Lounge CMX
-Thai Airways Business Class Chiang Mai-Phuket
-Trisara Phuket
-Thai Airways Royal Silk Domestic Lounge HKT
-Thai Airways First Class Phuket-Bangkok
-Emirates Lounge BKK
-Emirates A380 First Class Bangkok-Hong Kong
-The Intercontinental Hong Kong
-Cathay Pacific First Class Check-in HKG
-Cathay Pacific "The Wing" First Class Lounge HKG
-Cathay Pacific First Class Hong Kong-SFO
CX SFO Check in and the BA Terraces Lounge
A rainy Sunday morning in the City turned sunny on our 25 minute ride to SFO. Easy check-in at around T-90 at fully staffed counters where there were only a handful of pax. As Mrs. SFO and I walked down the empty First Class lane, a pleasant F agent came from behind the First Class counter to meet us in the line and escorted us back to his counter. Efficient check in with pleasant chit-chat about Bangkok and the agent's recent trip there.
Security was reasonably quick as we were the only ones in the Priority security line, jumping the queue of about 25 others. Unfortunately, priority line funneled into the Nude-o-scope line where we were stuck behind non priority pax including a mother and child who apparently hadn't been to an airport in a while.
CX uses the BA Terraces Lounges at SFO, with a full size cardboard CX FA "greeting" us at the door.
Since the next BA flight was not for some 5 hours, it was all CX during our stay. I've said it before when we flew BA... what a lame excuse for a First Class Lounge. Not that I'd want to fly UA TPAC, but their SFO IFL is so much nicer than his place. The First Class "lounge" is a small ante room on the way to the much larger main Business Class portion of the lounge. Today, the doors to the First lounge were wide open with no agent monitoring or controlling who wandered in. And a half dozen did join us within 15 minutes.
Not that it really mattered as there was really no attraction... slightly "better" wine and champagne options than the Business Class portion of the lounge, but a pretty weak selection of "snacks".
At T-30, the lounge dragon came into the First lounge and announce the boarding, at gate A-6 thru the library portion of the Business Class lounge. Direct boarding to the jetway from the lounge is one of the few positive features about this place.
May 2010
Mrs. SFO and I are off to Istanbul this week and I decided to use our 2-4-1 Chase BA miles for the SFO-LHR leg, the BA strike notwithstanding. Even though I had a *A back-up reservation including LX from ORD-ZRH, dinner at Maze and fifth row seats to Tuesday's Thriller Live won out at the last minute over a double connection and I decided to stick with BA. Surely, BA wouldn't short change First Class service, would they? OMG, how wrong I was. What a huge disappointment, and not just related to the strike.
Even though I OLCI'd at home, we stopped at the First check in counter for new BPs and doc check. Security was a breeze as the Premium lane was open with only a handful ahead of us.
Strike or not, the only redeeming feature about the SFO Terraces Lounge is direct boarding from the lounge to the jetway. Spartan entrance, small First Class lounge with the same limited selection of serve-yourself food and beverages set-up as in the Business class lounge. Does BA really think that First pax are craving smoked salmon/boursin and ham/pickle/cheese sandwiches? I never thought I would say this, but UA's IFL at SFO is infinitely superior.
The First Class portion of Terraces...
Our 744 from the First Class lounge...
The Club World portion of Terraces...
At T-40, the lounge dragon came into the lounge and announced boarding which was through a door opposite the check-in desk, directly from the lounge to the top of the jetway. FA greeting at the door of our 744 was pleasant although lacking personal greeting or interaction, understandable with a short-staff.