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This Review of the British Airways Lounge at San Francisco Airport SFO is from our recent 2023 visit, prior to an Iberia Business Class flight.
British Airways Lounge SFO Location, Hours, and Access
The British Airways Lounge at SFO is located after security on the right hand side, near Gate A5. It's open daily from 5-11:30am and from 1:30-6:45pm. Access is available to:
- British Airways First Class passengers with a same-day boarding card; may bring one guest, but the guest must be flying British Airways or a oneworld partner airline
- British Airways and Iberia Business Class passengers with a same-day boarding card
- Oneworld Emerald or Sapphire member with a same day boarding card on British Airways or a oneworld flight; may bring one guest, who must also be flying British Airways or a oneworld partner airline
- British Airways Executive Club Silver or Gold member; must be flying British Airways or a oneworld partner. If the elite member is flying British Airways, s/he may bring one guest, also flying British Airways
- Priority Pass member: only admitted 5-11:30am, may stay a maximum of 3 hours
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British Airways Lounge SFO Amenities and Food
The lounge is located one level down, by elevator, from reception. The first space you enter is the bar area, with seating overlooking the tarmac. This is also where restrooms are located. The lounge also has showers, on a first come, first served basis.
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There's Elemis hand soap and lotion in the restroom.
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Also in the bar area is a small hot buffet. On the day of our visit, the main was Chicken Cacciatore.
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It's also possible to order several dishes to your table by scanning the QR code and pulling up the menu. On our visit, choices included Minestrone Soup, Beet Salad, a burger, Impossible veggie burger, pasta, or Fisherman's Wharf chowder. We'd had lunch prior to coming to the lounge so didn't partake, but it's great to have made to order items available.
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The next room has most of the seating, with carrel desks for working as well as regular chairs and some rather firm blue sofas by the wall.
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There are good views of the tarmac here as well, including the British Airways aircraft.
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The above photos were taken after the lounge emptied out, after the British Airways flight boarded, but when we first arrived, it was so jam packed that it was challenging to find anywhere to sit. I doubt I'd spend much time in the lounge if flying British Airways, since it was uncomfortably crowded for the space.
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There was a very decent cold buffet, with various sandwich options, cheeses, cold cuts, quinoa and regular salad, nuts, and desserts. We particularly enjoyed the fruit salad, which included fresh berries.
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Lounge staff provide cocktails and wine in the first room, but under the cold buffet there's self-serve beer and soft drinks:
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A filtered water dispenser provides cold still and sparkling water, handy as well for refilling water bottles (I find that in busy business class cabins, it's a hassle to get as much water as needed to remain hydrated on transatlantic flights).
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Tea is Twinings:
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The Verdict
The experience at the British Airways Lounge at SFO can vary dramatically depending on the time of your visit. When we arrived at 3:30pm the lounge was packed, with only a couple high top chairs for the three of us. But after the passengers boarding the 4:25pm British Airways flight to LHR had cleared out, the lounge was nearly empty for half an hour, until other passengers on our 5:50pm Iberia flight partially filled the lounge again (although it wasn't nearly as crowded as previously, since there are many more business class seats on the BA flight).
The food was very decent (in retrospect, better than the food aboard Iberia Business Class), especially the fruit salad which included fresh berries. There's good natural light by the floor to ceiling windows overlooking the tarmac, plenty of power outlets, and burgers and salads made to order, so it can be a good stop to get a bit of work done or even dine if you're hoping to spend most of the flight sleeping.
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