Southwest Airlines has chosen Honolulu for its first-ever airport lounge, a major shift for the carrier that built its reputation on simplicity, open seating, and equal treatment for all passengers. The State of Hawaii has approved a direct lease for the airline to develop and operate a “VIP Airline Lounge” in Terminal 2 of Daniel K. Inouye International Airport.
BOH exclusive: The new space, roughly 12,241 square feet across two levels, was previously home to the airport’s Garden Conference Center that Beat of Hawaii editors know well. It is a beautiful location tucked directly alongside the beautiful Honolulu Airport Cultural Gardens, one of the most distinctive, open-air settings of any U.S. airport, accessible by elevator or stairs from both the front and rear of the terminal.
This signals Southwest’s entry into premium travel economics, starting in Hawaii.
Lounges are central to attracting higher-yield travelers and strengthening co-brand credit card revenue, areas where Alaska/Hawaiian, American, Delta and United already dominate. For Southwest, very late to the game, it’s a major cultural and financial pivot: a company once proud of its no-frills persona is now preparing to compete head-on in the premium travel space. And where better to start, apparently, than Hawaii.
What’s confirmed.
Hawaii’s Department of Transportation lists the Southwest lounge as an October 9, 2025 action item, confirming a direct lease at Honolulu International Airport, Tax Map Key (1) 1-1-003:051. The agreement includes a minimum $20 million construction investment and a five-year term. Industry filings show the lounge will occupy Building 342, Rooms 342-155 and 342-220H, totaling 12,241 square feet.
The state’s lease documents reference the standard HNL lounge rate, usually around $150 per square foot annually, placing the total value near $2 million per year. Neither the airline nor the state has disclosed construction or opening dates. We reached out this morning to Southwest’s executive office for comment and will update readers as soon as the airline responds.
Those gardens are familiar to our readers. We’ve featured them in Honolulu Airport Cultural Gardens Are Hidden Find In Plain Sight and recently Remembering Aloha Flight 243’s Anniversary With HNL Airport Gardens Few Discover. They form the green heart of the airport, filled with koi ponds, shaded walkways, and native plants. The gardens are one of the most peaceful corners in any major U.S. terminal. If any part of Southwest’s new lounge opens toward that garden, this could well become one of the most authentic and airport lounges anywhere in the country.
Why Honolulu.
Honolulu has remained a key market for Southwest since it began Hawaii flights in 2019. The airline now operates close to 1,000 departures per month from HNL, even as many of them are 100-mile hops, an amount comparable to its larger mainland stations. This hub-like activity makes Honolulu an ideal testing ground for Southwest’s first premium concept.
By choosing Hawaii instead of Dallas, Denver, or Baltimore, Southwest is signaling how important the islands have become to its current and future identity. The decision positions Honolulu not as a leisure outpost, but as a flagship market capable of bringing the airline into its next chapter. It also puts Southwest directly in competition with Hawaiian/Alaska, United, and Delta for travelers who value comfort as much as price.
Honolulu’s lounge ecosystem is already evolving quickly. As we explored in our earlier coverage of the massive Hawaiian Airlines-Alaska Airlines upgrade coming to the Mauka concourse of Terminal 1, the entire airport is undergoing a terminal renaissance. The new Southwest space, at about 12,000 square feet, will join the even larger new Hawaiian–Alaska premium lounge now taking shape at the Mauka concourse, estimated at up to 18,000 square feet. You can revisit that overview here: Massive Hawaiian-Alaska Upgrade Sparks New Terminal Renaissance At Honolulu.
The bigger strategy.
Southwest leadership has made it clear recently that lounges, premium seating, and a stronger co-brand credit card are now central to its strategy. And it appears that some form of business/first class can’t be far behind. The company has faced financial pressure as costs rise and fare competition intensifies.
Lounges drive loyalty, but more importantly, they drive credit card economics. The other airlines use their lounge networks to support high-fee cards priced from $395 and up annually. These programs generate recurring income even when ticket sales are slow. Southwest executives have noted that similar lounge access would allow them to justify a $495–$595 annual card and deepen their own Rapid Rewards engagement. This is now especially relevant given the recent overhaul of loyalty programs such as Atmos Rewards.
The Honolulu lounge arrives at a fascinating moment of Southwest brand reinvention.
The competitive landscape at HNL.
Honolulu’s Terminal 2 already hosts an extensive lounge lineup, including Delta, United, and many others. Alaska/Hawaiian’s current and future lounges are in Terminal 1 although there is currently no Alaska Lounge at HNL. Southwest’s entry clearly adds a new dynamic, with a domestic low-cost carrier quick joining the premium mix.
This could also raise expectations for design, amenities, and service at the largely neglected airport. Frequent flyers have long complained that HNL’s lounges as well as the airport overall feel terribly dated and overcrowded. This Southwest investment as well as Alaska’s could set a new standard.
What travelers should expect.
The biggest question is access. If Southwest follows industry trends, top-tier elites and premium cardholders will likely enjoy complimentary entry, with day-pass options possibly available for others. That structure mirrors what competitors use to support their high-fee cards and loyalty programs.
Details remain under wraps, but the roughly 12,000-square-foot footprint includes rooms on the historic ground level and an adjacent upper lobby, likely connected by elevators or escalators. The confirmed garden-level location hints at something visually very distinctive.
Why the timing matters.
The state’s approval came in the same week that Hawaiian Airlines’ certificate was retired under Alaska. One airline’s 95-year old nameplate fades while another mainland carrier invests in a luxury experience at the same airport. The symbolism of the week is hard to miss: as Pualani bows out for the last time, Southwest plants its own flag firmly in Honolulu.
The transformation also mirrors a broader reality in Hawaii travel. The era of equal treatment for all in the air is ending. Airlines are now competing head to head for premium leisure travelers with the same intensity once reserved for business routes. Southwest’s new lounge in Honolulu is not just another build-out, it is a declaration that the airline is ready to join the premium race for real.
Our take.
Beginning this premium shift in Honolulu is smart. Hawaii is where leisure demand meets emotional brand equity, and it’s where Southwest already touches an oversized share of its bucket-list travelers. If the airline wants to convince them to add a new premium Rapid Rewards card, this is a great place to start. For travelers, it could mean more choices, better lounges, and new competition that benefits everyone.
Would you visit a Southwest lounge in Honolulu, or does this just feel like the end of the Southwest you once knew?
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BOH doesn’t allow links but you can search the Hawaii DOT website for the plans. In one sense, this could be a beautiful lounge, given its location. In another sense, this ruins my Terminal 2 strategy of going the the extremely lame Priority Pass IASS lounge (probably the worst airport lounge ever), getting a free soda, and then sitting out in the beautiful triangular garden. When I fly SWA, it was so convenient…. Quiet and calm before the A-B-C lineup groups at the E games. With SWA “discovering” the space, my quiet, relaxing space may be gone. lol
Well, this certainly isn’t good news for Hawaiian Airlines. Any thought that Southwest might pull out of Hawaii and solve the interisland overcapacity problem, giving HA some pricing power seems out the window.
Still, Southwest could do what all the other airlines do and make their flights from the mainland all turnarounds and drop interisland service since they no longer have aircraft utilization restrictions from not being able to fly overnight.
You are actually advocating “pull out of Hawaii?” A duopoly is bad, but you are advocating a monopoly? Please explain the logic.
Oxymoron: SW and lounge. Does this mean that those with access get 2 bags of peanuts? No thanks – It’ll keep my Delta pass!
I’m actually hopeful. Every other major airport has lounges worth spending time in. Honolulu’s felt frozen in time since the 70s. Maybe this brings a little polish without losing the aloha. I hope the renovation energy spreads throughout HNL.
So HNL is basically turning into an airline luxury mall now? Great. Next thing will be resort fees for boarding passes. Feels weird.
Virtually every commercial airport, domestic or international, has lounges. Because HNL has generally regarded as substandard lounges compared to almost everywhere else, you are disappointed that there’s an effort to improve? Please explain your logic.
As Southwest keeps chasing Delta and United, they’ll surely lose what made people love them. The charm was the crew joking on the mic and everyone boarding in chaos but somehow happy at the same time. So what’s the differentiation if any now?
I used to work in the old Garden Conference Center for events back in the 90s. Never thought that space would turn into a Southwest lounge. It was always breezy, with the smell of jet fuel and ginger flowers at the same time. The garden is still beautiful.
I’m weirdly emotional about this. We always stop in that very garden before flying home. My husband calls it “the decompression zone.” If Southwest walls that off for the lounge, it’s like losing a small ritual.
We always hang out in the gardens waiting for our SW flight. The SW gates are so close.
The landscape architect of the garden, Richard Tongg, designed many of the finer homes in Hawaii. He would only fly Aloha airlines. He always said Aloha was “the peoples airline”.
Wow, this made my day! I’m sure Alaska Hawaiian aren’t celebrating. I mostly travel inter island and was concerned Hawaii would be, once again, a one airline State. Gone are Aloha, Mid Pacific, Mahalo, and many other smaller ones I can’t recall. With each passing Hawaiian would jack prices and agents seemed to lose their aloha.