Official: Southwest Airlines Opening Lounges… Including In Honolulu?!

Southwest Airlines is undergoing a major transformation at the moment. Initially this includes charging for checked bags, introducing assigned and extra legroom seating, etc. However, in recent months, the company’s management has made it clear that things like first class, long haul flying, and lounges, are also under consideration. Well, at least one of those things has now been confirmed…

Southwest will be opening a lounge at Honolulu Airport

Enilria flags how Southwest Airlines has signed a lease to open a 12,000+ square foot lounge in Honolulu (HNL). This lease agreement has been approved by the state, so it’s now official, even though the airline hasn’t publicly announced this yet on its end. We don’t yet have any details beyond that, like when the lounge will open, or what the amenities will be like.

Honolulu is an interesting market for Southwest to open a lounge, given that it’s heavily leisure oriented, and Southwest has acknowledged that the Rapid Rewards program is a major reason that it has extensive service to the state, even if it’s otherwise not that profitable.

However, the expectation is that the airline will also open up lounges in several other major markets, like Baltimore (BWI), Dallas (DAL), Denver (DEN), Las Vegas (LAS), Phoenix (PHX), San Diego (SAN), and more.

Admittedly securing available lounge space often isn’t easy, so I expect it’ll be at least a few years before lounges are open at several of those airports. Let me also emphasize that we don’t actually know that Honolulu will be first, as it’s also possible that another lounge opens. This is just the first confirmed lease agreement that I’ve seen mentioned.

What could Southwest’s lounge strategy look like?

Admittedly there’s a lot changing at Southwest right now, so it can be hard to figure out how all these puzzle pieces fit together. Is the lounge strategy part of a bigger plan to introduce first class and/or long haul flying? While it’s possible, I could also see this being offered entirely independently of that.

There are lots of ways these lounges could be monetized. For one, Southwest has been teasing that it could introduce a new premium credit card, which would presumably include lounge access. Given the massive size of Southwest’s domestic network, plus the size of the Rapid Rewards customer base, that alone could probably more than fill these lounges in a lucrative way.

It’s also possible that Southwest introduces a new fare bundle that includes lounge access, in an effort to increasingly woo business and premium travelers.

Lastly, Southwest could also open these lounges largely for its own guests, but also open them up to Priority Pass. Keep in mind that Southwest’s co-brand credit card agreement is with Chase, so the issuer is very familiar with monetizing lounges. Even the Chase Sapphire Lounge network allows Priority Pass members access, with some restrictions.

So we’ll see how this plays out, but I imagine that a lounge network would largely be a credit card and loyalty play. I’m also very curious what the quality of these lounges will be like. It’s hard to imagine Southwest having a competitive lounge product, when the most sustenance the airline offers on its flights is packaged snacks.

Bottom line

While there have been a lot of hints about Southwest possibly opening lounges, it’s now confirmed. A lease has been approved for Southwest to open a 12,000+ square foot lounge in Honolulu, and that’s expected to be one of several airports to get such a facility.

Southwest sure is changing, and it goes way beyond just charging for bags and introducing assigned seating. It’ll be fascinating to see how this transformation plays out, and who will have access to these lounges.

What do you make of Southwest’s plans to open lounges?