rustykettel

Quote:

We’re investing in our airport lounges as part of a multi-year commitment to refresh and expand our portfolio. Here’s a preview of what’s coming to an Alaska Lounge near you.
What’s new
In the coming months, we’ll be enhancing our lounges in Portland, Anchorage, Los Angeles, and Seattle. Expect refreshed designs and amenities to make your lounge life even better. Here are a few of our favorite additions:
A refreshed look and feel featuring new comfortable furniture, warm finishes and a welcoming vibe;
Barista stations so that you can get your custom-crafted Starbucks® espresso beverages or loose-leaf Teavana® tea just the way you like them from an Alaska Lounge Barista; and
Meals for purchase, starting at just $8. You can buy fresh, filling, high-quality and affordable food to enjoy in the lounges or take to-go.

Looking forward to seeing what AS thinks a flagship lounge should look like, since showers & someone who can make reservation changes aren't part of that vision. The architect's renderings show lots of open space, which looks nice on paper but translates to a loud area with limited seating, and is a bit sterile and plastic-y to boot. Hopefully they learned from the new SEA C lounge that bright light colored fabrics do not hold up well and show stains far too easily.


Also, with paid hot food coming to PDX, maybe they can finally get a full liquor license at that location...

jsguyrus

Looking forward to the new SEA N Lounge as well as the new SFO rooftop lounge!! For PDX, lets get a new space that holds more people please. Lastly, could we upgrade the food to at least match DL Sky Club and AA Admirals Club please.

JacksonFlyer

Regardless what it looks like, someone here will complain. I guess the the look of the lounge is in the eye of the beholder. My favorite one is the C lounge however I never sit in any of the seats, always at the bar either watching sports or watching the planes go by, it has the best view as far as I am concerned. The main lounge at the D gates is seemingly always busy (at least when I travel) and the N lounge is "sterile", small and has only one bathroom with a perennial line. As far as showers go, the only time I have really appreciated that is when I fly SEA to LHR with plans to fly on to somewhere else. Other than that, I can wait till I get to my hotel or home, though I can see how it would nice for business folks who are flying to multiple places throughout the day. As far as noise is concerned, never really noticed ambient sound (like foot steps on the floor, etc) but REALLY notice self important business folks that are on the phone during their entire stay and really could care less about bothering the people around them, or uncontrolled children (where thankfully I saw one of the lounge attendees at PDX but a stop to). I have enjoyed pretty much all the lounges and realize there are good and bad days. I agree with you, it would be extremely helpful if the front desk could help with reservations/seat assignments and I really agree that PDX needs to get a liquor license which may come with food.

Looking forward to the new lounge.

zrs70

I am so against meals for purchase in lounges. I think it is déclassé, lowering the standards of what a lounge should be. It's also a slippery slope.

When airlines first introduced buy on board, they lowered the standards of the free meals that were still offered. Within a short time, they published surveys that said (basically): "Studies have shown that people prefer buy on board offerings to the standard offering. So we are discontinuing the free meals."

s0ssos

Also agree. How is a lounge with meals for purchase anything better than a restaurant? Food is definitely going to be worse. You just supposedly have less people (which may or may not be true).

atcanobbio

AS should look into a rooftop lounge at LAX too.

wylek

Absolutely agree.. I've always wondered why they advertise "Concierge service" on the Alaska Lounge amenities page, and even describe that "we're happy to assist with seating arrangements, upgrade requests, and travel tips or recommendations." (emphasis mine)

SNAnghbr

Might have to wait a while for the SFO lounge. While it is an AS goal, the renovations to the space where they might put it aren't going to be done until late 2019. Also has not shown up as an item on the SFO airport commission agendas yet. I would guess 2020 would be the soonest you might see a lounge at SFO.

As to LAX. Lease on terminal 6 at LAX comes due in 2021/22 time frame. AS probably wouldn't do anything at LAX until they have a new lease in place and maybe a place to put the Air Canada maple leaf lounge.There has been some discussion of the lease in LAWA closed session but nothing that I can find publicly. I would expect AS will want to do something at LAX since UA is just finishing up 7/8 and AA is about to start on 4/5 since I don't think they want to look stuck in the 60's at one of their hubs while everything around them is new and shiny.

eponymous_coward

They've had food for sale at LAX for quite a long time. Doesn't seem to be sliding the free food offerings down much of a slope.

notquiteaff

rustykettel

I generally agree, however I also think a lounge without hard drinks or cocktails also lowers the experience as well. Thanks to OLCC's arcane rules, the lack of food for sale is one of the things keeping the PDX club on beer & wine only from what I've been told.

Legend717

Well, yeah, but I mean... Alaska Lounge?
It's not exactly a high standards place.
And before someone comes and accuses me of complaining (which, yeah, fine), I really like most of the product that Alaska Airlines offers.
But the lounge experience is not one of them.
As I ranted in another thread in August, having visited the nearly new SEA C lounge and the LAX lounge this summer, I'd never in a million years actually PAY for that experience.
Especially since the pancake machine had a sign on it that said "Broken."
At that point, you've just got a room full of dirty chairs with no power outlets.

SO. It will be interesting to see what this refresh yields! I hope for some serious improvements.

EDIT TO ADD: the pics of the SEA N-gates lounge look fantastic, but as someone else already said, I see seating for about, what, 20 people? In a room that looks to be about 1000 sq ft?

PDXPremier

tusphotog

mczlaw

Making the PDX lounge look nicer is really besides the point. It looks OK, but it's about half the size it ought to be. So, unless they are working with some anti-gravity technology, the refresh is largely nonresponsive to the overcrowding problem @ PDX. Is it possible they really meant to say they've nailed down a new, larger location in the C terminal? (Haha, no I didn't think so either.)