Located in northern California, San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is a key hub on the West Coast of the United States. The city is popular as a destination in its own right among both leisure and business travelers, as well as serving as a useful gateway for onward connections to other US airports.

While its West Coast location makes San Francisco an ideal hub for transpacific flights to destinations in Asia and Oceania, the Bay Area city also sees its fair share of intercontinental long-haul traffic on routes to and from Europe. Indeed, current scheduling data made available by Cirium, an aviation analytics company, shows that 16 different airlines will operate nonstop flights from San Francisco to Europe this year. But who are they?

United Airlines Is The Dominant Operator

Per Cirium, 2026 will see a grand total of 8,682 scheduled departures on routes from San Francisco to Europe, with these services offering over 2.65 million seats in the process. Hometown carrier United Airlines has by far the largest share of this market, with its 3,106 flights and 850,948 seats respectively representing proportions of 35.8% and 32%. Across the year, the 3,106 flights amount to a daily average of around 8.5 departures.

From San Francisco, United serves Amsterdam (AMS), Barcelona (BCN), Rome (FCO), and Zürich (ZRH) on a seasonal basis, while Frankfurt (FRA), London Heathrow (LHR), Munich (MUC), and Paris (CDG) see year-round service. As far as aircraft choice is concerned, United favors widebody twinjets from the Boeing 777 and 787 families on these routes. Commenting on its growth in San Francisco, United CEO Scott Kirby said in 2025:

« We’re winning more Bay Area customers because of our investments in the product, the experience, and the places we fly. Our growth is a direct result of United’s ambitious network strategy. »

Other Big Hitters

Elsewhere, five European carriers will average more than one departure a day from San Francisco International Airport this year, with annual totals above the 365-flight mark. British Airways and Lufthansa lead the way, with 722 departures apiece, although the German flag carrier comes out on top in terms of seat capacity (266,137 vs 261,863). BA serves London Heathrow with the 777 and A380, while Lufthansa flies to two airports.

Specifically, the Star Alliance founding member uses the Boeing 747-400 and 747-8 on flights to Frankfurt, while Munich is served by the Airbus A350-900 and A380. Next on the list is Turkish Airlines, which has penciled in 564-Europe-bound departures from San Francisco in 2026. All of these will serve its main hub in Istanbul (IST) using the A350-900, with its monthly totals ranging from 36 departures in February to 53 in July and August.

Of the two remaining European carriers with more than daily flights from San Francisco, Virgin Atlantic has more departures than Air France (552 vs 541), while the latter comes out on top in terms of seats (160,556 vs 157,662). Virgin’s flights to London Heathrow use the Airbus A350-1000 and Boeing 787-9, while Air France favors the A350-900, 777-200ER, and 777-300ER on its nonstop flights from San Francisco to Paris CDG.

The Best Of The Rest

Another 10 European carriers have less-than-daily flights from San Francisco to their homelands this year. KLM, Aer Lingus, and SWISS lead the way, with 356, 351, and 351 departures respectively to their hubs in Amsterdam (AMS), Dublin (DUB), and Zürich. These airlines are closely followed by Scandinavian Airlines (SAS), which boasts a grand total of 334 departures and 100,200 seats from San Francisco to Copenhagen Kastrup (CPH).

ITA Airways (231 departures to Rome) and TAP Air Portugal (227 departures to Lisbon and Terceira) are next on the list in terms of frequencies, followed by French bee to Paris Orly (186), Iberia to Madrid and Barcelona (184), and Condor to Frankfurt (157). Last but not least, and also the newest European carrier at SFO, is LOT Polish Airlines, which will fly 98 times from San Francisco to Warsaw (WAW) between May and October.