Before the Alaska Airlines Lounge is officially launched today, I'd like to give special thanks to Canarsie who is a valued member of FlyerTalk. And whose bust you'll see displayed right inside the entrance door to our Lounge.

Among his many other accomplishments on FlyerTalk was the establishment of the Delta Forum Lounge Thread 2 ½ years ago. In the time since launch, it has become the second most viewed thread in FlyerTalk history and has been responsible for creating and cementing many, many friendships both personally and on-line.

The previous three posts outlining the rules, regulations and ambiences of the Alaska Airlines Lounge thread were borrowed from Canarsie almost verbatim and with his permission. We felt he did an excellent job in establishing this Lounge criteria that has now been widely adopted by other FlyerTalk Lounge threads.

One final comment. This is your Lounge. It's up to you how it'll be run. You might want to have some fun by tracking who makes the various milestone posts.

Or you might want to appoint a Lounge Personnel Roster which has grown from just a few folks when started to what you see today.

Or you may want to do something totally different. Or nothing at all other than socialize right here in this thread. It's your call.

Enough with rules, regulations and suggestions! I see that the doors to The Lounge are slowly swinging open for the first time!

So come on in, relax and have fun!!