An Alaska Lounge has just (re)joined Priority Pass, which is exciting, though it comes with a major catch.
Alaska Lounge SFO now belongs to Priority Pass
The Alaska Lounge at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) has just joined Priority Pass, as flagged on FlyerTalk. The catch is that in order to access the lounge as a Priority Pass member, you’re on the hook for a $15 co-pay. Furthermore, you must be flying on Alaska or a partner airline, and you can stay for a maximum of four hours (which is at least longer than many other lounges allow).
For context, the Alaska Lounge SFO is located in Terminal 1, and it’s roughly 11,000 square feet, so it’s quite a good size. Currently this is the only Alaska Lounge location that’s participating in Priority Pass.
Obviously Priority Pass members like more options, though some people won’t like the co-pay. These kinds of co-pays are rare for simply wanting to enter a Priority Pass lounge, though we do sometimes see fees to “reserve” a spot in a lounge. This is a way that lounges can monetize their popularity, given that there’s often more demand than supply.
However, this concept also isn’t unheard of. We recently saw the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse Los Angeles Airport (LAX) join Priority Pass, but with a $35 co-pay. People have mixed feelings on this concept — while it helps with crowding, it also seems rather arbitrary, to start charging for lounge access on top of a standard access benefit.
Alaska Lounges have an interesting history with Priority Pass
As it currently stands, the Alaska Lounge at SFO is the only one in the network to belong to Priority Pass. Back in the day, virtually all Alaska Lounges belonged to Priority Pass, but obviously the way that lounge monetization works has evolved drastically over the years.
With Alaska increasingly focusing on its co-branded credit cards, plus belonging to oneworld and having a partnership with American, that ultimately makes lounges so crowded that there’s not much extra capacity.
The SFO location is an exception, and I imagine that reflects Alaska’s lack of success at the airport. Keep in mind that when Alaska acquired Virgin America, a bigger presence in the Bay Area was one of the main selling points of the deal. However, over time, Alaska’s presence at the airport has continued to decrease.
At this point, Alaska obviously has more lounge capacity at the airport than it needs, which is why we’re seeing this monetization.
Bottom line
The Alaska Lounge SFO has just joined Priority Pass, but there’s a $15 co-pay, in addition to needing a Priority Pass membership. Furthermore, you must be flying on Alaska or a partner airline, so this is also a way to increase demand for flights on Alaska or for the Atmos Rewards program, by making this perk related to airline choice.
It’s good to see more lounge options, though understandably many won’t like the precedent of a co-pay to access a lounge with a program like Priority Pass.
What do you make of the Alaska Lounge SFO joining Priority Pass?
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