World Airport Website Report – Terminal Map

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As the third part of Word Airport Website Report, it will cover the terminal map and airport information section. As always, I will choose some typical websites and analysis how well they deliver the information to airport travellers.

SFO – San Francisco Airport

This is the oview terminal map for SFO.

screen-sfo.airport-terminal.map.gif

It will be better if they have the introduction for this map. My questions are like:

1) What is the relationship between Terminal 1 and Terminal 3? I am flying with UA and which terminal should I likely to arrive?

2) Why only three terminals were named. Why the outlet of Gate 40-48 is not called a terminal?

3) What is the area marked with A/B, B, C, D, E, F, F/G? (They are boarding areas)

Services, Shops, Arlines…

The services, shop and airline information on SFO is more like an application instead of a website. By choosing the category, you are offered a list of items so you can get more inforamtion about the item. It is amazing that it covers almost all the facilities on the airport.

For example, here is the list of the services:

Services

=============================================

Information

Airport Information Booths

Customs Information

Travelers Aid

Services

ATMs

Banking Services

Cellular Phone Rentals

Currency Exchange

Hair Salon and Public Showers

Lockers & Storage Facilities

Lodging, Transportation & Attractions Board

Lost & Found

Luggage Carts

Medical Clinic

Nurseries

Postal Services

Shoe Shines

TDD Telephone

Telephones Equipped with Dataports

Travel Agency

Wheelchairs

Take the ATM as an example, it provide detailed information about each ATM on the airport.

ATMs

Bank of America ATMs are located in

Terminal 1: Boarding Area B

Terminal 3: Boarding Area F

Union Bank ATMs are located in

Terminal 1: Rotunda A, Boarding Areas B and C.

Terminal 3: Boarding Areas E and F

Wells Fargo ATMs are located in

Terminal 1: Boarding Areas B and C

Terminal 3: Boarding Area F.

Travelex ATMs are located throughout the International Terminal

The only see I can see to improve is to put the map along with all the introductions so it is easier to locate then on the map.

Gates

In SFO, certain airlines are serving predefined gates. That makes it easier locate a gate or an airline. Here is an example. It looks nice:

Gates G91-G102

Boarding Area G

Gates G91 ?G102 are located in International Terminal Boarding Area G. The following airlines service these gates:

Aeroflot

Air China

ANA – All Nippon Airways

Asiana

EVA Airways

Lufthansa

Mexicana

Singapore Airlines

United Airlines (international)

Overal Rating

The Airport Guide section of SFO provide enough information for customers. The only shortcoming from my perspective is, the application nature (or the Framed nature) of the guide are not search engine friend and the fragment of information may not be as effecient as putting everything together on the same page.

Atlanta Hartsfield Airport

The concourse layout map at Hartsfield Airport seems to cost a lot of effort to built.

Till now, I still think the SFO’s version is better – a frame work to provide clear gate information and the lane inside the concourse, then provide the location marks on the seperate map – putting everything together on the same map is not easy to read.

Conclusion

Based on my obversation, to be a successful terminal map,

1) The map should use clear fonts and icons – too small icons make it useless.

2) The map should be careful to use icons – sometimes it will be better to mark only neccessary icons.

3) The map should avoid interactive content – Denver’s interactive concourse map does not show the content at once.

DFW – Dallas Airport

Dallas Airport provides a very good idea to put a terminal map on the top and a table of facilities at the bottom.

The facility can be easily found if the gate number is given. I believe the future PVG.CN will take this approach – easier to create, update and read with less effort, compared to a large map with all the legend and icons on it.

JFK – New York Airport

The JFK Terminal Map is the typical all in one map with all different kinds of icons fillup in the same map. I don’t like this kind of map.

23 thoughts on “World Airport Website Report – Terminal Map”

  1. Try to provide some answers to your questions about SFO:

    1) I believe “terminal” means “terminal building”. The (light) colored shapes illustrate buildings. You may then see the extent of each terminal. There is a hallway between terminals 1 and 2, and also 2 and 3.

    2) Thus, Gates 40-48 are in terminal 3.

    3) I believe the letters designate underground parking areas. People mostly go there by car, thus the significance.

    SFO is large and complex. Complex, because it has been expanded from the old airport (essentially the current domestic part). In some sense, one must be familiar with the airport to appreciate everything on the map. On the other hand, I would not be surprised this is a map they have copied from somewhere else, say an existing paper brochure. In reality, not too many people would look at this map on the web to find out details of the airport. It provides me just a general layout of the place. Services are detailed maybe they were paid to put the details there for the commercial concerns.

  5. ” 2) Thus, Gates 40-48 are in terminal 3.”

    I think that if you look again you will see that gates 40 – 48 are actually in Terminal 1, NOT Terminal 3. Terminal 1 includes gates 1 -48 and Terminal 3 includes 60 – 90. The “missing” gates (49 – 59) are part of Terminal 2 that is currently undergoing renovation and thus are out of service for the time being.

  6. It really would be helpful to have maps of concourses shown for all the major cities in the United States such as the gate numbers for Atlanta Hartsfield. The map that is on this site leaves much to be desired.

  10. Dear sir or Madam

    I am going to travel to your so beautiful country dut I have some problems. I can not find flights from Beijing and Shanghai ti Dalian. I am looking for some flights as like as below

    Beijing to Dalian

    Dalian to Beijing

    Shanghai to Dalian

    Would you please be kindness and send to my email address a timetable of 5flights that are available in everyday.

    thanks for your attention and your time.

    yours faithfully

    zohre(Miss)

  13. I am ;trying to get a terminal map for the Los Cabos Airport in Mexico. It seems I can get everyone in the world except this one. I need to meet my daughter in the airport and want a spot where we both can find easily.

    CAn you hlep?

    ROn Perkins

    Chicago

  17. It defies logic unless you physically visit SFO, however . . .

    Gates 1-48 (including 40-48) are located in Terminal 1

    Terminal 2 is curently closed (gates 50-59)

    Gates 60 through 90 are located in Terminal 3

    Gates A1 through A12 and gates G91 through G102

    A/B, B, C, D, E, F, F/G are indeed sections in the central parking structure.

    I find it a amusing that SFO marks the parking structure more clearly than the gates & terminals.

  21. Hi, i am travelling from India to SA… then i have to catch a domestic flight to

    Freson… i need port map of SA so that it will be easy for me to move from international terminal to domestic terminal… please help….

  22. Hello

    I will be using SFO the first time, and I want to know how to get from terminal 3 to International terminal?

    I will have around 2 hrs to get my checked bag/s from an American Airlines and then get to International terminal.

    How long does it take to walk the distance?

    How to get on an Airtrain?

    I have read around some sites but still cannot really figure out how. Your help is very much appreciated.

    Thanks.

  23. I am flying Air Canada tomorrow to Toronto. It leaves from terminal 3. But, this is the DOMESTIC terminal? Not the international TERMINAL? Please clarify.

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