Air India Is Building a Lounge at San Francisco Airport — What We Know So Far

Updated: August 1, 2025, 10:10pm CDT

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What We Know About Air India’s San Francisco Airport Lounge
Final Thoughts

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You heard it here first: Air India should open its next U.S. lounge at San Francisco International Airport (SFO).

The news isn’t official yet, but I’ve just seen with my own eyes the exact spot in SFO’s international terminal where the lounge is being constructed. I stumbled on it unintentionally and went searching for answers.

Here’s what we know so far, and how this fits into the lounge landscape at SFO.

What We Know About Air India’s San Francisco Airport Lounge

Air India has a larger presence in the U.S. than you might have thought. With nonstop flights from 4 Indian cities currently scheduled, nowhere is that more true than at San Francisco (SFO). And the airline indicated a few years ago that a lounge would come to SFO at some point, but there’s been no update since then.

Now, we can confirm the location and the fact that construction is underway.

The lounge is being constructed on the fourth floor between the China Airlines and Golden Gate lounges. It will be the airline’s second lounge in the U.S., joining the Maharaja Lounge at New York’s JFK.

Air India SFO lounge construction sign — There’s definitely an Air India lounge coming.

There’s even a gap on the lounge display board in the international departures area that’s ready and waiting to be filled by Air India’s name.

Lounge display board at SFO — Air India could soon fill in the missing space on the lounge display board in SFO’s international terminal.

Air India’s current schedule for flights to San Francisco looks like this:

Bengaluru (BLR): 3x weekly, starts in September
Delhi (DEL): daily, year round
Kolkatta (CCU): daily, ends in August
Mumbai (BOM): 4x weekly, starts in September

Once services to Bengaluru and Mumbai start in September, Air India will have close to the same number of weekly flights as British Airways, Cathay Pacific, and Virgin Atlantic, each with its own lounge at SFO. China Airlines also has its own lounge, even though it operates just 1 daily flight from SFO to Taipei (TPE)

Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse at San Francisco SFO — Virgin Atlantic’s Clubhouse at SFO is open to Priority Pass guests from 9 a.m. until 12 p.m., when it becomes exclusive for Virgin Atlantic guests departing on their 2x overnight flights to London Heathrow (LHR).

If there’s enough demand for Cathay, Virgin, and even China Airlines to have their lounges, it will surely work for Air India.

The discovery comes as the Indian flag carrier is undergoing a brand and customer experience refresh with the launch of its Airbus A350.

Upgraded Points contacted the Air India team for comment but has yet to receive a reply. We’ll update this piece with more information as soon as we have it.

Hot Tip:

SFO has 4 Priority Pass Lounges and 2 restaurants where Priority Pass members can enjoy a credit towards their preflight meal and drinks. The only non-airline Priority Pass lounge is The Club SFO, which is often busy and requires members to add their names to a waitlist. You can enjoy complimentary Priority Pass membership as a perk of numerous credit cards.

Final Thoughts

With the lounge under construction, it’s only a matter of time before we hear about the planned opening date for India’s second U.S. lounge at San Francisco. We hope to hear back from Air India soon so we can update you with all the details like size, amenities, and opening date.