tl;dr – The airline previously announced a lounge in Honolulu, but will follow mainland locations as well.
If you even remotely follow airline or travel news, you likely know that there’s been a significant change with Southwest Airlines over the last few years. Depending on you’re perspective, its been a mix of sadness [1], [2], and possibly excitement [3], [4]. As Southwest starts to emerge from its private equity ‘gimme the loot’ transition, the airline is eyeing more premium offerings, including service to Europe on its Boeing 737 MAX’s and now airport lounges.
Southwest previously announced an airport lounge at Honolulu’s Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Hawaii (HNL), and now CEO Bob Jordan has hinted that lounges will be coming to select Southwest Hubs in the US.
Reportedly, active efforts are underway to lease space in Denver, Nashville, and other high-traffic, Dallas-based locations. It’s also possible that these lounges (at least some of them) are launched in conjunction with Chase, one of Southwest’s longtime partners.
It’s hard for me to think of Southwest as premium – the ‘everyperson’ vibe of the airline is what made me love them – but we shall see how this all shakes out!
