Review: Alaska Airlines Lounge Seattle Airport (North Satellite)
The Seattle/Tacoma International Airport has been going through a multistaged renovation of the entire airport, and Alaska Airlines has been taking advantage of that to modernize and create bigger and better lounges at their hometown airport. Recently I was on a cross-country flight from Seattle to Atlanta and had the opportunity to check out one of their new lounges.
Opened in 2019, the North Satellite lounge is one of the biggest lounges for Alaska Airlines and takes up almost half of the upper level of the terminal building.
Location
There are two Alaska Airlines lounges at the Seattle/Tacoma International Airport, one is in the central terminal near the Alaska Airlines gates, and the other is in the North Satellite where Alaska Airlines owns the entire terminal. My flight on this day was out of the North Satellite, so after a quick hop on the underground tram, I was at the North Satellite.
The lounge is located on the upper level of the terminal, near gate N12. The escalator or elevator up to the second level can easily be seen as you come up the escalator from the underground tram from the main terminal.
Access
As Alaska Airlines does not fly overseas, their lounge access rules are quite unique. Alaska Airlines First Class passengers (both paid and award tickets) with flights over 2,100 miles into the lounge with just their ticket. This covers their coast-to-coast flights, Hawaii, and their destinations south of the border.
Along with purchasing a membership, American Airlines and oneworld elite members also have access to these lounges.
Food and Beverage Offerings
The lounge has a great selection of food and drinks. When I was traveling through, they were serving lunch. There was a make your own chili bar, small sandwiches, fruits, and a salad bar. Everything looked freshly made, and didn't look like it was sitting too long. I ended up having some small sandwiches and they were perfectly delicious.
The drink selection was also pretty robust with a Coke machine that dispenses dozens of different flavors, an automated coffee machine, and fresh drip coffee. My only complaint is that there was only one drink area for the lounge, and it was always quite busy and had a small line whenever I needed to refill my drink.
Seating Options
Seating was plentiful in the lounge, from the bar area had tables to bring your food and eat, along with booths and high tops.
Other areas of the lounge had recliner seats along the windows for those of us that like to stare at airplanes all day, as well as a fireplace in the main enterance of the lounge to accent the space.
Even through the lounge was busy, there was more than enough room and places to sit as I watched passengers filter in and out for the roughly two hours that I was in the lounge.
The layout I felt was pretty well-thought-out, with a good mix of individual seats as well as areas for groups of four or even more to have options to sit. I especially liked the wavy blue couches that extended the entire way down the side-hall of the lounge, it offered a lot of room if there were big groups traveling.
Atmosphere
The lounge had a warm, natural feel to it. The long wooden planks felt like it elongated the space and the fireplace in the middle gave it a warm, cozy feeling along with the warm accent lighting.
While the lounge was pretty busy while I was there, it never felt loud or cramped. Everyone was able to maintain a normal speaking voice without overpowering anyone.
As I consider Seattle my second home, it gave me Pacific Northwest vibes everywhere I looked, from the fireplace to the exposed lumber. It was all cozy feeling, especially that couch wrapped around the fire place.
Final Thoughts
This lounge is exceptionally convenient for those flying out of the North Satellite, the warm space felt absolutely perfect. Everything was clean and often catered, the full bar was exceptional as well as the food choice, and it overall felt like a generally nice place to work. Any time I fly Alaska Airlines I always have a great experience, and not often do I get to take in their ground handling experience. Everyone of the staff was warm and friendly, and they were always walking about to check on the passengers. Next time, I might just have to book an Alaska ticket just to experience the lounge again.
