Review: Club International Seattle

Review: Club International Seattle

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I love the amount of nonstop international service that SeaTac Airport has. Living in Tampa I usually had to get up at the crack of down when traveling internationally and take a connecting flight or two to get to my international gateway. Now I can leave home less than two hours before my international flight.

We got to the airport at around 12:15PM for our 1:35PM departure. Lufthansa check-in is located at the far end of the terminal, with most of the foreign carriers.

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Check-in signs

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Terminal

Almost everyone had already checked in since we only arrived a bit over an hour before departure, so there were no queues at check-in.

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Lufthansa check-in counter

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Lufthansa check-in counter

While I missed not having Pre-Check, the premium security line wasn’t that bad, so we were through within about 10 minutes. Lufthansa leaves from the “S” gates in  Seattle, so we took the train over there, which took another five minutes or so.

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Central terminal in Seattle

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View of Lufthansa, ANA, and Korean planes from the central terminal

Once at the “S” gates we headed to “Club International,” which is the contract lounge that Lufthansa and far too many other airlines use at the “S” gates.

As a reminder, Seattle has a handful of other options available to those with a credit card with lounge access, if you wouldn’t otherwise be able to enter.

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Lounge exterior

At the entrance we handed over our boarding passes and our flight information was written down and we were invited in. On the left side of the hallway was a door to the first class lounge, which was partitioned off from the rest of the lounge by glass.

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Lounge entrance

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First class lounge

So there’s no point in beating around the bush. The lounge was physically okay, but way, way, way too crowded. For me the most important characteristic of a business class lounge is that it’s a quiet place to get some work done, and that wasn’t the case here. Virtually every seat was taken.

Not only was it full, but there were several people pacing around the lounge closing billion dollar deals (in their own minds, at least) and using Skype without headphones.

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Lounge seating

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Lounge seating

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Lounge seating

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Workstations

The food spread was fine, and consisted of self serve soft drinks, soup, yogurt, packaged veggies and cheese, ramen noodles, chips, cookies, etc.

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Buffet area

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Soup

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Yogurt, veggies, etc.

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Ramen noodles

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Packaged snacks

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Snacks

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Fridge

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Fridge

There was also a manned bar with alcoholic drinks.

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Alcoholic drinks

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Coffee machine

The lounge was so ridiculously overcrowded that we decided to go sit in the food court instead. SeaTac Airport has free Wi-Fi so the food court was actually more comfortable to sit in than the lounge.

At about 1PM we headed over to the departure gate, which was S12. It’s a bit ridiculous that they have two 777s and an A330 all leaving from the same tiny corner of the terminal at more or less the same time, since there were probably 500 people in an area that seats 100 people tops.

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Gate area

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Korean Air 777

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Our Lufthansa A330 to Frankfurt

At around 1:10PM boarding was announced, starting with first and business class.

So note to self: next time cut it even closer when departing out of Seattle on Lufthansa.

Conversations (13)
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  1. Parker Guest

    I was going through old trip reports because that's what I enjoy doing when I am home sick (other readers don't judge) and I couldn't help but chuckle about the Sun Country on those signs. I have a picture on my phone that is, from top to bottom, "Emirates, KLM, Korean Air, Qatar Airways, Sun Country." That sign is located at Terminal D at DFW.

  2. Srini Guest

    I was using an Alaska Miles Redemption in Business Class on Emirates and Emirates provides access to this lounge. However I did not know about this and instead used my Priority Pass + $27 for using United's Lounge (which was horrible and nothing to eat). Alaska's lounge is equally horrible with a salad consisting of lettuce leaves and cherry tomatoes...and crowded. This lounge from your report seems so much better and I will definitely visit...

    I was using an Alaska Miles Redemption in Business Class on Emirates and Emirates provides access to this lounge. However I did not know about this and instead used my Priority Pass + $27 for using United's Lounge (which was horrible and nothing to eat). Alaska's lounge is equally horrible with a salad consisting of lettuce leaves and cherry tomatoes...and crowded. This lounge from your report seems so much better and I will definitely visit this lounge on my next trip on Emirates out of Seattle.

  3. dmodemd Guest

    Whoa! You missed the best part of the International Lounge! The really nice bartender will mix up some featured cocktails for you (with whatever mods you want). I had a Lychee Martini while my wife had a Mimosa. The soup was good, did you try it?

  4. Scottrick Guest

    At least the bar at the international lounge is better than any of the domestic ones IMO.

  5. Ken Member

    According to a announcement by Seatac this was the old Delta Crown room. Can anyone verify this?
    Also I am flying F on Emirates which uses this lounge. What's behind the glass in FC area?

  6. Susan Guest

    Uh oh. On to plan B - thanks!

  7. lucky OMAAT

    @ Susan -- Hah, stay tuned, next installment will be out tomorrow. It's the old product. Here's a sneak peak:
    https://onemileatatime.com/how-opinions-change-when-you-realize-lufthansa-planes-have-more-than-eight-seats/

  8. Susan Guest

    Hey Lucky, Just put a LH business class flight on hold SEA to FRA. Can I get a sneak peak on the next installment? Wondering if it has the new biz class seats?

  9. Zach Guest

    Having flown in and out of SEA the last few weeks going overseas, it still surprises me that DL wants to build up SEA even more. My LAXSEA flight on Wednesday had to land at the B gates because of the overcrowding at the S concourse.

    For what it's worth, at least that club has food. The SC has more seating and arguably a better view, but virtually zero food options. Take your pick :P

  10. lucky OMAAT

    @ FlyingDoctorWu -- Yep, believe it is!

  11. FlyingDoctorWu Guest

    That's the old NW WorldClub right? I remember when it opened; it was the best lounge in SEA...

    FDW

  12. Sam Guest

    Although the lounge may be crowded, it appears to have much better selections than any of United Clubs.

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The comments on this page have not been provided, reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any advertiser, and it is not an advertiser's responsibility to ensure posts and/or questions are answered.

Parker Guest

I was going through old trip reports because that's what I enjoy doing when I am home sick (other readers don't judge) and I couldn't help but chuckle about the Sun Country on those signs. I have a picture on my phone that is, from top to bottom, "Emirates, KLM, Korean Air, Qatar Airways, Sun Country." That sign is located at Terminal D at DFW.

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Srini Guest

I was using an Alaska Miles Redemption in Business Class on Emirates and Emirates provides access to this lounge. However I did not know about this and instead used my Priority Pass + $27 for using United's Lounge (which was horrible and nothing to eat). Alaska's lounge is equally horrible with a salad consisting of lettuce leaves and cherry tomatoes...and crowded. This lounge from your report seems so much better and I will definitely visit this lounge on my next trip on Emirates out of Seattle.

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BA Lounge Database | North America - Page 3 - FlyerTalk Forums Guest

[…] Disney Channel and everyone is happy. I suspect this place is busy until the EK flight leaves and http://boardingarea.com/onemileatati...ional-seattle/ suggests it's a zoo earlier in the day. Wifi is free on the airport network. There was a […]

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