As far as Priority Pass Lounges go, the Air France Lounges are some of the better lounge options for Priority Pass members within the United States. They tend to have great food options and decent amenities to make your pre-flight experience more pleasant and enjoyable. On this trip, my friend Andrew and I were flying Korean Air First Class to Seoul so we had access to the British Airways Terraces First Class Lounge but we ended up coming here to fill our bellies and relax before our flight instead.
Unlike the Air France Lounge SFO, the British Airways Terraces Lounge actually has a dedicated First Class Lounge space for first class passengers. But unlike the British Airways Terraces Lounge, the Air France Lounge SFO actually has hot food options. Even with a dedicated First Class Lounge, we were so unimpressed with the British Airways Terraces Lounge food options that we walked over to the Air France Lounge SFO to eat, hang out and wait for our flight instead. We appreciated the calming and relaxing space and upgraded alcohol selection of the British Airways Terraces Lounge but we needed some food and the cold sandwiches were not cutting it.
Air France – KLM Lounge San Francisco Airport
The Air France Lounge SFO is located in Concourse A of the international terminal. Concourse A has its own dedicated security checkpoint and Priority Pass access is limited to passengers departing from Concourse A only. Most Star Alliance partners depart from Concourse G except for Asiana, Avianca and some Copa flights. The other airlines that depart from Concourse A include most oneworld and SkyTeam airlines, Alaska Airlines, Emirates, Etihad, Hawaiian, JetBlue, Philippines Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, WOW Air and others. So if you are flying one of these airlines, you will be able to use this lounge with ease.
The Air France Lounge SFO is located to your left directly after the security checkpoint. The lounge is accessible by premium cabin passengers and SkyTeam Elite Plus members traveling on any SkyTeam partner airline, and Priority Pass members. The lounge is open from 6:45 AM to 1:00 AM daily but Priority Pass access may be restricted between 11:00 AM to 2:30 PM and 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM daily and due to space constraints. There is a maximum of 3 hours per stay for Priority Pass members.
The lounge is one long room with several partitioned areas to separate the passengers and reduce noise. The medium size space is very simply decorated but the large windows let in a lot of natural lighting. Even though it wasn’t the biggest space, the lounge felt open, bright and spacious. To the front, there is a small sitting area adjacent to the reception desk.
The main seating area is located in the center of the lounge with designer chairs and bar stools along the window. If you need to get any work done on your laptop, there is a communal work table located in the center and a long counter along the windows with easy access to electrical outlets. At the end of the main seating area, there is a counter with some snacks, drinks and an espresso machine. The views from the lounge are great. If you look at the last picture, it’s a little hazy but you can see my beautiful Korean Air Boeing 747-8 parked at the gate.
There’s a single room located in the main seating area with leather chairs and a sofa. I’m not sure who this room is reserved for but during my visit, it was open for everyone to use. I think this might be a “first class” section for Air France flights.
Past the main seating area is the dining room and self-serve buffet station. During the time of our visit, 9:00 AM on a Wednesday, the lounge was fairly crowded and the majority of the passengers were congregated in the dining room area.
For food, there was a pretty good selection of both hot and cold food items. The cold items included pastries, fresh fruits, desserts, a salad bar and other light snacks.
The hot food options included a rather random selection of steam rice and sausages, waffles, seasoned fries and a delicious pumpkin soup. It was a rather odd combination of items for breakfast but everything was pretty tasty.
Alcohol-wise, there was a good selection of spirits, beers and wines.
WiFi is provided throughout the lounge but there are no other lounge amenities or services provided. There are no day rooms to lay down or shower suites to freshen up.
Air France Lounge SFO overall thoughts
Overall, I was impressed with the Air France SFO Lounge. It’s a smaller lounge compared to the British Airways Terraces Lounge but the food options made the lounge worth visiting. With Priority Pass access, the space does get crowded at peak times but we didn’t have a problem finding a space to relax and work before our flight. The WiFi was fast and the lounge attendants did a great job of keeping the lounge clean and food station replenished at all times.
Have you visited the Air France Lounge? If so, please share your thoughts with me in the comments section below. Thanks for reading!
The other reviews in this series include:
- Air France Business Class Lounge San Francisco
- British Airways Terraces Lounge San Francisco
- DoubleTree San Francisco Airport
- Korean Air First Class, Boeing 747-8 San Francisco to Seoul
- Four Points Sheraton Seoul, Namsan
- Korean Air First Class Lounge
- Korean Air First Class, Boeing 747-8 Seoul to Hong Kong
- Courtyard Marriott Hong Kong
- Day trip Hong Kong to Macau
- SWISS Business Class, Boeing 777-300ER Bangkok to Zurich
- Hilton Zurich Airport
- Turkish Airlines, Airbus A321 Zurich to Istanbul
- Turkish Airlines CIP Lounge
- Turkish Airlines Free Transit Hotel Warning
- Turkish Airlines Business Class, Boeing 777-300ER Istanbul to Los Angeles
