It seems like yesterday we were celebrating the opening of a new terminal at the San Jose airport. Now it's SFO's turn to show off its massive $383 million renovation of Terminal 2.
The airport threw a press event Wednesday with the likes of Buzz Aldrin, Richard Branson and a fancy spaceship which landed right on cue at 10:45 a.m.
This weekend, T2 will open to the public. The 640,000 square foot terminal is calling itself the country's "most modern and sustainable." The terminal will be home to American Airlines and Virgin America. The terminal was built in 1954 and has been home to American ever since. Now T2 will be home to one of the oldest airlines and one of the newest: Virgin America.
Virgin is the only airline that lists SFO as its official headquarters.
One of the airplanes Virgin is parking at the gate this week isn't quite ready for normal passengers. Virgin is bringing in its Virgin Galactic WhiteKnightTwo and SpaceShipTwo.
The WhiteKnightTwo is the double-breasted mother-ship of the SpaceShipTwo, which is the first commercial space plane. The White Knight Two will fly the spaceship to a launching altitude which will provide passengers with a flight that will include about six minutes of weightlessness, according to Virgin.
Virgin Galactic is the frontrunner of the space tourism industry. It is seriously seeking out would-be space travelers willing to pay $200,000 for promised space flights in the future. Virgin Galactic has already surpassed $10 million in space sales.
Once the spaceships move on, Virgin America will settle down to its seven new gates. Virgin promises its signature cabin music, moodlighting and design will create a stress-reducing oasis for travelers.
