United's Terminal 3 area makes debut in San Francisco

• Intense competition among the three major West Coast airports
• Airports in Los Angeles and Seattle have also seen recent renovations

SAN FRANCISCO — United Airlines on Tuesday unveils its new Terminal 3 passenger area at San Francisco International Airport.

The soaring, airy facility — technically, Boarding Area E in Terminal 3 East, or informally, "T3E" — is scheduled to see its first departure Tuesday at 7:05 a.m. PT, when Flight 286 bound for New York JFK takes off. All told, United expects the revamped T3E to handle about one out every six of its flights at its biggest West Coast hub.

The new terminal area comes amid a period of heightened competition among the three big Pacific Coast airports: Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle. They've become increasingly valued by the USA's biggest airlines during the past five years, and have benefited from both expanding flight options and customer-friendly terminal upgrades.

In Los Angeles, the new Tom Bradley International Terminal opened last year, and major terminal upgrades have been planned or launched by the airport's biggest domestic carriers — including American, Delta, United and Alaska Airlines.

Seattle has also has been hot, luring three new international carriers since 2011, as well as being home to an aggressive expansion from Delta. That carrier — the nation's third-biggest following the American-US Airways merger — has added more than a dozen new routes, including international flights to such places as Hong Kong, Seoul, Shanghai and London.

United CEO Jeff Smisek is bullish on San Francisco, saying it has inherent location and demographic advantages that make it the USA's natural West Coast hub and a "premier gateway to Asia."

Among the features in the $138 million 10-gate concourse are lounge-style seats, an interactive video-display screen, a yoga room, copious amounts of natural light and floor-to-ceiling windows that offer views sure to delight plane-spotters.

John Martin, airport director at San Francisco International, credited the competition among airports for being the driving force for a decade's worth of improvement efforts at his facility,

"We have to stay ahead of the curve," he says. "Competition is great. It keeps us all honest and keeps all the airports on the West Coast continuing to provide better services.

"But we think United is really bullish on our future, and they're building up their operation here. And we're seeing China Eastern, SAS, Aer Lingus all adding flights. We're getting international flights across the board."

"Clearly, the value of a hub is going to be dictated by the airlines that serve it, the routes they fly and the fares they charge," says Henry Harteveldt, a San Francisco-based travel analyst for Hudson Crossing. "But for a traveler who is going to have to make a connection somewhere, the airport becomes a factor. If someone is taking a flight that would require a connection, a nice terminal can give that airport an edge. I think it will help United attract and keep more connecting passengers."