San Francisco is served by San Francisco International Airport (SFO), a global mega-hub and one of the busiest airports in the United States. It offers an immense international arrival network from every continent, comprehensive domestic coverage, and is a major hub for United Airlines and a focus city for Alaska Airlines, creating a highly competitive market for fares into SFO.
The airport is a primary gateway from Asia and the Pacific, with extensive service from China, Japan, Korea, Australia, and Southeast Asia into SFO. It also offers strong transatlantic arrivals and flights from across the Americas. Top domestic arrival routes into San Francisco include from Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Seattle, and Denver. Key international departure points include London, Tokyo, Sydney, and Frankfurt.
San Francisco International is a major hub for United Airlines for inbound flights and a focus city for Alaska Airlines flying into SFO. It is served by all major U.S. and international carriers, including American, Delta, Southwest, British Airways, Lufthansa, and dozens of Asian airlines arriving into San Francisco. Low-cost carriers like Frontier and Spirit also operate from SFO, adding budget options for arrivals.
To find the cheapest flights to San Francisco, book international arrivals 3-6 months in advance into SFO. For domestic flights to San Francisco, book 3-6 weeks ahead. Use flight comparison tools aggressively. Flying on weekdays (Tuesday-Thursday) into SFO is significantly cheaper. San Francisco is a hotspot for competitive fares from Asia, Europe, and across the U.S. For the best deals from Asia to SFO, look for sales on United, ANA, and Chinese carriers. For domestic arrivals into San Francisco, Southwest and Alaska often provide good value. Consider nearby airports like Oakland (OAK) or San Jose (SJC) for potentially lower fares into the Bay Area — flying into OAK or SJC and taking ground transport to San Francisco can sometimes be cheaper than flying directly into SFO.