SFO - One Mile at a Time Forum

SFO Airport Adds Employee Vaccine Mandate

Ben Schlappig — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 23:23:24 +0000

We’ve seen some airlines start to require vaccination among employees, and now one major airport in the United States has added a similar requirement.

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SFO Bans Sale Of Plastic Water Bottles

Ben Schlappig — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 23:18:42 +0000

In general we’re seeing a big push globally towards more environmentally friendly policies, and I’d say that in the US we’re seeing a lot of progress on that front at the moment. It’s an area where the US has long lagged (especially compared to many European countries), though the US is starting to catch up,…

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Are "Basic" Airport Lounges Even Worth Visiting Anymore?

Ben Schlappig — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 23:12:35 +0000

Yesterday I found myself in a situation where I wanted a quiet place from which to work, so I left an airportlounge. That seems a bit backwards, no? It made me question why I even bother visiting airline lounges most of the time. My general instinct is to always visit a lounge if I have…

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Here's A Feature Every Airport Hotel Shuttle Should Have

Ben Schlappig — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 23:10:58 +0000

Unreliable shuttle service is one of my biggest frustrations with airport hotels. Ideally airport hotels will have schedules they publish with when they pick up at both the airport and the hotel. While it's common to have published times for shuttle departures from hotels, at the airport it's generally more of a crapshoot. My issue…

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Marilyn Hartman Now Sneaking Into Hotels Instead Of Airports...

Ben Schlappig — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 23:08:21 +0000

Marilyn Hartman is quickly becoming a celebrity at airports beyond the west coast, it seems. I first wrote about Marilyn Hartman last March, when she was arrested at SFO after trying to sneak through security several times without a ticket. Then in August she successfully managed to sneak on a plane from San Jose to…

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Tour of United's operations at SFO

Ben Schlappig — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 23:04:57 +0000

It’s so easy to take air travel for granted and lose sight of the fact that airplanes are million pound metal tubes that fly six miles above the earth’s surface at well over 500 miles per hour. And it’s easy to do so because for the most part, travel is seamless – it’s safe, usually…

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New "security" policy at SFO....

Ben Schlappig — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 23:04:56 +0000

This is quite possibly the dumbest thing ever. Flying out of SFO on Saturday morning, I handed the ID checker at the security checkpoint my ID and boarding pass. She asked me what my last name was, in a somewhat demeaning tone, so I figured she wasn't just curious about the pronunciation. Dumbfounded, I pointed…

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Yesterday was a bad day to oversleep

Ben Schlappig — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 23:04:38 +0000

So I was supposed to mileage run yesterday. I was actually really, really looking forward to my mileage run because for the first time ever it was a same day trip with no redeye involved. My routing was Tampa to Chicago at 6:45AM, then Chicago to San Francisco at 10AM, then San Francisco to Washington…

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Behind the scenes airport catering facility

Ben Schlappig — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 23:04:36 +0000

Check out this PBS behind the scenes video of the SFO Gate Gourmet facility. Last year some of us had a chance to tour an airline catering facility, which I found to be a fascinating experience. If you didn't have a chance to take the tour, this is the next best thing. Since I've taken…

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Back at home....

Ben Schlappig — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 23:04:33 +0000

After a nice weekend in San Francisco for Fleet Week, I took a redeye last night from San Francisco to Washington and then continued to Tampa. While I do well over 200 domestic segments a year, it really never gets old. No two flights are the same, that's for sure. The excitement started when I…

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