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New SFO terminal brings romance back to air travel
"An airport terminal designed to bring back the romance of travel," airport director John Martin told KGO-TV.
The new $383 million SFO terminal will be home to American and Virgin America airlines. Airport supporters hope to recapture the golden age of air travel with local restaurant stars, artwork, a classic American Airlines DC-3 and even the ability to fill an empty water bottle and take it on board.
"We immediately felt we walked into a five-star hotel lobby that was just declared LEED gold standard in its environmental design," said San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee.
On the flip side, the new terminal welcomes the future of aviation with open arms too. Sir Richard Branson was on hand this week with Virgin Galactica's White Knight 2 which will take passengers into space, a venture California legislators hope to see reality soon.
"This is a big part of economic growth and economic development in the region and it is a big part of keeping down the costs for passengers to fly," said California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom.
That's great news for San Francisco, not so great news for nearby San Jose where their airport has struggled, trailing behind San Francisco then Oakland, losing lucrative routes to Paris and Taiwan. The economic slump that started in 2008 pretty much drove a stake through the beleaguered airport's heart causing a loss of a third of its scheduled flights and a quarter of it's passengers. This probably won't help them either.
"We immediately felt we walked into a five-star hotel lobby that was just declared LEED gold standard in its environmental design," said San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee.
On the flip side, the new terminal welcomes the future of aviation with open arms too. Sir Richard Branson was on hand this week with Virgin Galactica's White Knight 2 which will take passengers into space, a venture California legislators hope to see reality soon.
"This is a big part of economic growth and economic development in the region and it is a big part of keeping down the costs for passengers to fly," said California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom.
That's great news for San Francisco, not so great news for nearby San Jose where their airport has struggled, trailing behind San Francisco then Oakland, losing lucrative routes to Paris and Taiwan. The economic slump that started in 2008 pretty much drove a stake through the beleaguered airport's heart causing a loss of a third of its scheduled flights and a quarter of it's passengers. This probably won't help them either.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Emma Apr 7th 2011 8:54AM
I'm curious about how it's the most sustainable in the United States? This article doesn't answer that question. Romantic and sustainable are not synonymous in my world ...
Terry Boots Apr 8th 2011 10:36AM
I decided to try Virgin America, IAD to SFO recently. Never again. The plane was cramped, everything cost $8, from movies to a sandwich. Worse, Virgin had without question the nastiest flight attendants I've encountered since the last time I flew British. Westbound, I asked a flight attendant to take an empty cup; he responded that he couldn't because his hands were clean. Eastbound, I pushed the call button and asked for a Coke. The flight attendant told me never to push the call button unless it was an emergency.
Sorry, Richard, I'll stick with Southwest and AirTran.