International carriers prepare for terminal transition at SFO

"This is truly a great facility," Airport Director John Martin said of the 2.5 million square foot building, which houses 34 gates and 168 check-in counters. "We hope it will leave a positive, lasting impression on those who visit San Francisco."

According to Martin's schedule, international carriers will be phased in to their new home over the course of five days beginning Dec. 5. Asiana, Mexicana and Singapore airlines will be the first. Aeroflot, Air France, China Air, Korean, Luftansa, and Philippine airlines will arrive on Dec. 6. Japan Airlines on Dec. 7. British Air, EVA Airways, Alitalia, Cathay Pacific, Hawaiian, KLM, Northwest and Swissair on Dec. 10.

Once all the carriers have completed their move into the new building, the airport's old international terminal will be closed for about 24 months while it is reconfigured to handle domestic flights. Passengers traveling during the transition week should call their airline to confirm their departure time and terminal, Martin said. Airlines have also been advised to call ticket-holders to inform them which terminal to use. Martin said SFO "ambassadors" would be stationed throughout the airport to guide travelers to and through the new facility.

The move will cap a fortuitous set of delays for the airport's new centerpiece, which was originally projected to open in January. Construction delays first forced Martin to set the date back into September, at which point concerns over the readiness of the terminal's sophisticated computer ticket counters, gates and baggage checking systems forced the airport to gradually shift service over to the new facility.

But the delays may have been the best thing to happen to the new terminal, Martin said. By postponing the opening date, airport officials were able to test each individual gate, baggage carousel and ticket counter with a number of charter flights -- likely eliminating the specter of mass system failures that have plagued some new facilities.

For several week, skyservice USA has operated its charter service to Mexico out of the new terminal. United Airlines, the airport's largest carrier, began its own testing earlier this month by shifting over daily flights to Bejing and London.

"We've caught the major problems," Martin said.

With its "common-use" computerized counter and gate systems, which allow airport officials to add or subtract carriers' space as traffic permits, Martin said the terminal would set a new standard for telecommunications and efficiency. U.S. Customs Service Officials expect to be able to process 5,000 passengers through customs every hour. Martin also revealed that contractors had completed their work within five percent of the original budget, with no projected upward change to the project's estimated debt service.

"This is a tremendously successful public works project," he said. "I think it is extraordinary for a project of this scale to come in this close to budget."

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