San Francisco International Airport: Gateway to the Golden Gate
Pt3: 1978-2015

By Andy T. Payne
Black & White Photos used with permission of SFO Airport: Aviation Museum & Library Collection (click images for originals)

Deregulation

Construction of the North Terminal finished in 1979, along with it was the relettering of the piers. Pier G (the one with a rotunda) became Pier A and the rest were relettered in a counterclockwise fashion. A museum exhibitions program began the next year in the North Terminal. SFO reached the 20 million annual passengers mark in 1981, and that number would increase with the opening of Boarding Area E in between the North and Central Terminals. Boarding Area E was part of the North Terminal. A new control tower opened, three stories higher than the 1954 tower, situated in front of it. The Central Terminal experienced a major renovation, with the destruction of the two piers and the construction of a single Boarding Area. In 1983, the Central Terminal became the International terminal.

SFO in the 1980s

During the deregulated era, existing airlines expanded their routes and new airlines rose, leading to merger-mania. Pacific Southwest Airlines expanded to Reno, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, and other southwestern destinations. PSA was later taken over by USAir. The merger was not a success and resulted in the loss of most PSA routes. PSA’s rival Air California (later AirCal) also expanded, even to Chicago O’Hare and Anchorage. Like PSA, AirCal was taken over by a larger nationwide carrier - in this case American Airlines. Down the line, USAir became US Airways and merged with American Airlines. Therefore PSA and AirCal, two of the great Californian airlines, became indirectly, one.

Another Californian airline, Air West, which became Hughes Airwest in 1970, was based at SFO. The fleet was repainted in a scheme of mostly yellow, hence the name “the flying banana.” In 1980, it merged with Republic, an airline formed by the merger of Southern and North Central. Republic in turn merged with Northwest Orient six years later. Northwest later merged with Delta Air Lines in 2010.

Southwest Airlines, originally an interstate carrier from Texas, took advantage of the the PSA-USAir, AirCal-AA, and Hughes Airwest-Republic mergers and started intra and interstate service. Southwest originally started at SFO, but then used Oakland Metropolitan for most Bay Area flights, with San Jose service following later. Alaska Airlines, of Seattle, entered also. Alaska Airlines uses SFO for some US-Mexico routes. Other airlines also came and went. American Trans Air arrived, but left in 2006 when it relocated to Oakland Metropolitan. Eastern Air Lines left in 1991, with their bankruptcy. TWA was taken over by American in 2001 and Continental merged with United in 2011. Their satellite in the South Terminal was used for United Connection.

SFO experienced three major events on December 10, 2000. The current International Terminal opened, the San Francisco Airport Commission Aviation Library and Louis A. Turpin Aviation museum opened in the International Terminal opened, and the “old” International Terminal closed. The International Terminal contains two piers, joined by a rectangular terminal building. Boarding Area A is next to Rotunda A. Boarding Area G is west of Boarding Area F. Pier G is used by Star Alliance airlines, mostly United’s international flights. Boarding Area A is used by Oneworld and non-aligned airlines. In 2003, the Airtrain system opened, linking all the terminals and rental car facility. Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) introduced service to the International Service soon after.

Pictures below are from the collection of Richard Stretton and date from October 2008

Rotunda A was in the way of three of the International Terminal’s gates, so Silverado Contractors demolished the pier and rotunda over the course of six working days in late December 2005/ early January 2006. During this time, the South Terminal was renamed as Terminal 1, the Central Terminal became Terminal 2, and the North Terminal became Terminal 3. These names remain today.

Virgin America decided to base operations at San Francisco, and began service in 2007 with a fleet of Airbus A319s and A320s. “Redwood” has grown to become a major airline at SFO, offering today domestic and international service.

After a partial demolition and reconstruction, Terminal 2 reopened its doors on April 11, 2011. The Boarding Area D has LEED Gold Certification, meaning it is a “green” building. Terminal 2 features a museum gallery and art gallery, along with water bottle-filling stations. As a result, Terminal 2 is considered one of the best Terminals at SFO. Virgin America and American currently occupy the 14 gates, some of which are common use. American left Boarding Area E, allowing it to be renovated. The renovation of Boarding Area E finished in 2014, and is currently used by United. Construction of the new control tower, situated between Terminal 2 and Boarding Area C, finished this year.

Terminal map from 2008

The future of SFO seems favorable, with more renovations to come. The new control tower will open in 2016, and Boarding Area B will be replaced near 2020. Traffic is expected to rise at the already space-constricted SFO, but San Francisco International will have to make do.

Photos below from Author's collection

Thanks

I would like to thank the SFO Museum, especially Megan Callan, for the tours and books.

References

Main source: SFO: A Pictorial History of the Airport by John H. Hill, Dan Seaver, and Jane Sullivan