{"id":428659,"date":"2026-09-07T10:35:25","date_gmt":"2026-09-07T10:35:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/428659\/"},"modified":"2026-09-07T10:35:25","modified_gmt":"2026-09-07T10:35:25","slug":"new-airport-lounge-by-southwest-airlines-to-land-in-austin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/428659\/","title":{"rendered":"New airport lounge by Southwest Airlines to land in Austin"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Dallas-based <a href=\"https:\/\/www.southwest.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Southwest Airlines<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.southwest.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"> is introducing its first-ever lounges in airports across the country, including Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. In a release, Southwest says it expects to open the lounges late next year.<\/p>\n<p>Lounges will also land at the following three airports:<\/p>\n<p>Baltimore\/Washington International Thurgood Marshall AirportDaniel K. Inouye International Airport in HonoluluNashville International Airport (set to be renamed in honor of the late Dolly Parton)<\/p>\n<p>Construction of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.swamedia.com\/news-and-stories\/news-release\/southwest-airlines-first-ever-lounges-to-debut-in-austin-baltimore-honolulu-and-MCITWQHOTTAVHDDKZ2TMPZFYBAGE\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">four lounges<\/a> is already underway. Southwest plans to open at least seven more lounges over the next several years, but it didn\u2019t identify the locations.<\/p>\n<p>Holders of a Chase-issued Southwest Rapid Reward credit card being launched in 2027 will gain access to the airline\u2019s lounges.<\/p>\n<p>The airline said in the release that its lounges will \u201ccombine the warmth and friendliness\u201d of Southwest with \u201csophisticated design, locally inspired dining, high-quality amenities, and valuable travel benefits\u201d available through the Chase Sapphire Reserve network of lounges.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe introduction of a lounge network represents a strategic investment in Rapid Rewards and deepens our 30-year partnership with Chase,\u201d said Tony Roarch, Southwest\u2019s executive vice president, chief customer officer, and chief brand officer, in a statement.<\/p>\n<p>Resonating with travelers<br \/>Airlines and credit card issuers realize the value of airport lounges, which are geared toward top-tier flyers.<\/p>\n<p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jdpower.com\/business\/press-releases\/2025-us-airport-lounge-benchmark\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">2025 study<\/a> by market research company JD Power found 47 percent of lounge customers plan their routes based on lounge access, and 82 percent pick an airline based on lounge access.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAirport lounges have become so popular that many airports are now starting to mimic their designs and layouts in their public terminal areas,\u201d Michael Taylor, managing director of travel, hospitality and retail at JD Power, said in a release.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLounges are clearly resonating with travelers, as expanded access through credit card perks and other non-status-related offers has fueled demand, bringing with it the unfortunate side effect of increased crowding,\u201d Taylor added. &#8220;This is driving the demand for additional lounge space within airport terminals.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dallas-based Southwest Airlines is introducing its first-ever lounges in airports across the country, including Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. In&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":428660,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[1613,736,132,134,133,2401,17072,7329],"class_list":["post-428659","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-austin","tag-airport","tag-airports","tag-austin","tag-austin-headlines","tag-austin-news","tag-austin-bergstrom-international-airport","tag-lounges","tag-southwest-airlines"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/428659","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=428659"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/428659\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/428660"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=428659"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=428659"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=428659"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}