Southwest has won approval to develop and open a lounge at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu.
State officials signed off on Southwest’s application for a lease of airport property earlier this month. The Dallas-based carrier has not publicly announced or confirmed the location.
Southwest does not currently operate any airport lounges, and when the planned site in Hawaii comes online, it will likely be the first. Under pressure from activist investors, the airline’s leaders have largely dropped their former no-frills business model and set up new revenue streams, including checked bag fees and extra-legroom seats. The debut of lounges would be another significant step in that direction.
According to a draft of plans made public by Hawaii’s Department of Transportation, Southwest will get about 12,000 square feet of space to construct its lounge. The area being set aside for development is the airport’s former Garden Conference Center.
Few details about the lounge’s configuration or appearance were available, but a map included in the state’s documents shows it will be put in on the south side of the airport near Terminal 2.
The DOT estimates costs for the construction work will total at least $20 million.
In a positive recommendation to Hawaii’s director of transportation, department officials said they “recognize Southwest’s commitment” to the airport and believe “that the new airline lounge is in the best interest of the State.”
Southwest will pay $156.14 per square foot per year in rent, the documents state, plus a performance bond equal to one quarter of the annual rent. The term of the lease is five years.
