Review: Alaska Airlines Lounge, San Francisco
In all honesty, I was in two minds whether to write this review. Despite a fantastic experience aboard Air France in their La Première first class, I was feeling tired considering I’d been up since 5am European time. Despite this, I did manage to get some feeling for this surprisingly good oneworld lounge at San Francisco Airport in Terminal 2D. Here’s what you can expect.
Access and eligibility
Unlike other US carriers, Alaska Airlines admits domestic first class passengers into their lounges which represents a genuine service enhancement compared to other airlines. Travellers with paid Alaska Lounge and Alaska Lounge+ membership can also enter, which starts at USD 350 p.a. for Alaska elite members and USD 450 for non-elites. Day passes can be purchased for USD 60.
For elite members, there is a two tier system in operation. For American Airlines or Alaska Airlines elites, you will only get access when travelling on an international ticket outside of North America, Mexico, and the Caribbean. For other oneworld elite travellers, you will be able to enter with Sapphire (BA Silver, Finnair Gold) or Emerald (BA Gold, Finnair Platinum) status even if you are travelling domestically.
Finding the lounge
After checking in at the surprisingly beautiful Terminal 2D and passing through security, the lounge can be found opposite the security check point. It’s very easy to find and you’ll be there within 2 minutes.
The Alaska experience
Besides the ‘Priority’ sign that seems to need replacing, the Alaska Lounge looks quite neat and average from the outside. Nothing spectacular but the frosted automatic doors don’t give much away to travellers.
That impression begins to change as you enter what feels like a wood-clad cabin in the middle of a busy Californian airport. The use of wood creates a clean design that feels fresh and at the same time warmly inviting - no doubt helped by the friendly staff at reception.
Around the reception area, there are a few seats available but due to the awkward positioning I suspect they are not used too often rendering them obsolete.
Once you have been admitted, you will be greeted by a group of chairs in a circle around a real warming fire, which on reflection I’m surprised is allowed at an airport. This evokes feelings of being at a campfire in the confines of an airport lounge.
This seating arrangement then goes onwards to expansive windows which let tonnes of natural light pour into the space. This excessive amount of light was desperately needed to wake me up from my partially sleep deprived state.
Beautiful bars, bad food
From the central fire pit, the lounge splits into two zones. The first to the right is home to the Alaska bar and self-serve food area. Starting with the more impressive element, the bar is surprisingly on a par with many international lounges I’ve seen, even surpassing carriers like British Airways. The bar consists of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks as well as barista-made coffee which despite being branded as Starbuck was good.
Basic alcohols such as beer, soft drinks, and coffee are free while you can upgrade to premium alcohols at a fee which seems fair.
The selection on offer is excellent and the bartenders were very friendly. AND YES, NO TIPS ARE ALLOWED! As a non-American, this is very welcome…
I set down at the windows to look over the apron and runway while attempting to do some work. The seating selection here consisted of barstools as well as dining tables.
Food selection was where this lounge fell down but this is more likely due to my experiences in excellent lounges with other airlines. The buffet consisted almost entirely of ultra-processed, poor quality food which was far from appetising such as gloopy soups and something that certainly didn’t resemble lasagna. Don’t even get me started on the awful salad dressings…
This is more a reflection of wider-US food manufacturing, and it is on a similar level to what Alaska’s competitors serve at their lounges. I can’t blame Alaska for doing similar in this regard. Self-serve filter coffee and tea can be found near the buffet area too.
The only part of the lounge I did quite enjoy using because of its novelty was the automated pancake machine. It sparked a little bit of joy to watch the pancakes cook (don’t judge) as well as the ‘prepare for bake off’ slogan below.
Onwards to the left side of the lounge and the seating is split between more dining tables as well as relaxed lounger-style seats. This area is similar in design and carries the same style across but has the benefit of often being quieter due to it being further from the bar.
Another self-serve filter coffee and tea area can be found for easier access.
While a small area to get bowls of sweets are found too, which I was surprised to see considering some Coronavirus regulations were still in place.
Finally, the bathrooms were clean and continued the natural style of the remainder of the lounge. No showers are available, which is not surprising considering this is catering to primarily short haul passengers, but there was a well-scented Alaska-branded moisturiser to use.
Conclusion
While I’ve been spoilt through lounge experiences such as Air France’s La Première, Cathay Pacific and Finnair, the Alaska Lounge did feel like a step down. The experience at Alaska Airline’s San Francisco SFO lounge is still excellent when compared to the competition at oneworld partner American as well as United and Delta. I loved the nature, camp-inspired design of the space which made it feel homely and welcoming at the same time. While the food was nothing to write home about, the bar was excellent while the limited encounters I had with the staff were equally stunning. As lounges in the US go for domestic passengers, you can’t go wrong with this lounge in Silicon Valley.
