Emirates opens new business & first class San Francisco lounge

Emirates' business and first class passengers (plus Skywards Gold members) can look forward to spending time in the airline's new lounge in San Francisco's SFO airport.

Bottom line? No surprises here -- it's the standard Emirates Lounge concept, so if you like the Emirates Lounges in Sydney and elsewhere (and we do), you'll like this one. 

The lounge is decorated in Emirates' trademark sand and blue colours, with the familiar checked cushions, armchairs that have passed the AusBT "comfortable with a laptop on your knees" test and what the airline says is the largest dining area in SFO.

56 of those leather armchairs combine with the dining area to hold up to 130 passengers travelling from San Francisco to Dubai, with the lounge open from noon-4pm daily.

You'll find the usual Emirates opulence inside, with Italian marble floors, water feature, gold Rolex clocks and dark wood accents, plus leafy dividers separating the different sections of the lounge.

Showers, a business centre, Emirates' top-notch food/drink offerings and wifi are all provided over two levels, with the reception area upstairs and direct access to the boarding jetbridge.

Elsewhere in the airport, Cathay Pacific opened its own new lounge complex recently — it's a different aesthetic in the International Terminal

John Walton

Aviation journalist and travel columnist John took his first long-haul flight when he was eight weeks old and hasn't looked back since. Well, except when facing rearwards in business class.