In the last days of summer, Southwest Airlines finally confirmed it would open lounges across at least 11 cities in the U.S. The first four will debut late next year in Austin, Baltimore, Honolulu, and Nashville.
The news was no surprise — Southwest executives had been hinting at this for months and the carrier had started filing paperwork with several airports to reserve space for lounges. CEO Bob Jordan has argued for the past year that certain perks like lounges and long-haul international flying would help win customers from rivals American, Delta, and United.
“What is it our customers want from Southwest Airlines that we cannot provide today?” he said at an investor conference in May. “I want to give our customers fewer and fewer reasons why they have to choose United, Delta, American and others because they don’t want to.”
Southwest did not unveil what the lounges would look like, but said they would have “high-quality amenities,” dining, and “valuable travel benefits.” The airline is partnering with JPMorgan Chase to design the concept and launch a new premium credit card with lounge benefits.
Lounges are the latest domino to fall in Southwest’s rapid transformation from a low-cost domestic carrier to a full-service one. The latest change now opens up the opportunity for long-haul international flying (something Southwest executives have expressed interest in), and perhaps even business class seats.
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