Sfo air carrier arrival from the north anticipating a specific runway assignment and vector was some...

Narrative:

First officer had flown into sfo more frequently than I had. We arrived from the north. I have always arrived from the south. First officer suggested north arrivals usually get runway 28L; while southern arrivals usually get runway 28R. This tracked with my experience; as I have generally arrived from the south; and have been assigned runway 28R. We briefed three approach options: the ILS 28L; the quiet bridge visual from menlo to 28L; and the tipp toe visual from menlo to 28L. While still north of san francisco; we were vectored to the east; passing overhead downtown sfo and over the bay toward oakland. We were told to expect right base to runway 28R. We briefed ILS 28R along with the FMS bridge visual to runway 28R. On base we were cleared for a visual approach to runway 28L; followed by a side-step to 28R at 1;000 AGL. All of this transpired below 10;000 feet. Not a way to run a railroad.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: SFO Air Carrier arrival from the North anticipating a specific runway assignment and vector was somewhat surprised with ATC handling and the frequent runway changes below ten thousand feet.

Narrative: First Officer had flown into SFO more frequently than I had. We arrived from the North. I have always arrived from the South. First Officer suggested North arrivals usually get Runway 28L; while Southern arrivals usually get runway 28R. This tracked with my experience; as I have generally arrived from the South; and have been assigned Runway 28R. We briefed three approach options: The ILS 28L; the Quiet Bridge Visual from Menlo to 28L; and the Tipp Toe Visual from Menlo to 28L. While still North of San Francisco; we were vectored to the East; passing overhead downtown SFO and over the bay toward Oakland. We were told to expect right base to Runway 28R. We briefed ILS 28R along with the FMS Bridge Visual to Runway 28R. On base we were cleared for a visual approach to Runway 28L; followed by a side-step to 28R at 1;000 AGL. All of this transpired below 10;000 feet. Not a way to run a railroad.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2013 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.

Attributes
ACN	1069237
Time
Date	201302
Place
Locale Reference	SFO.Airport
State Reference	CA
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	B757 Undifferentiated or Other Model
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Final Approach
Person 1
Function	Captain
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Events
Anomaly	ATC Issue All Types Inflight Event / Encounter Other / Unknown

Sfo air carrier arrival from the north anticipating a specific runway assignment and vector was somewhat surprised with ATC handling and the frequent runway changes below ten thousand feet.