Opened in 2019, the North Satellite Alaska Lounge is the airline’s flagship facility. Sized at 15,800 sqft (1467 sqm), the lounge complements Alaska Airlines’s two existing facilities in Concourse C and D. The airline also maintains the largest presence at the airport, which is no surprise since Alaska often touts itself as Seattle’s hometown airline.

Lounge Access Rules

Despite being a oneworld lounge, there are many exceptions to the access policy at the Alaska Airlines Lounge. But first, oneworld Emerald and Sapphire members belonging to programmes outside of Alaska Mileage Plan and AAdvantage are eligible for entry on any oneworld-operated itinerary. Elite members with Alaska Mileage Plan and AAdvantage are only eligible on flights destined outside North America.

Additionally, First Class passengers on Alaska Airlines on routes over 2,100 miles can access the lounge. This similarly extends to First and Business Class passengers on an international oneworld flight blocked for over 5 hours. Of course, Alaska Lounge members and by extension, Admiral Club members, are eligible for entry. For more access guidelines, consult the Alaska Airlines lounge access page here.

Location

The Alaska Lounge is located in the Seattle-Tacoma Airport North Satellite (N Gates). All passengers departing the airport can easily head to these gates on the airside SEA Underground trains from the Main Terminal North and Concourse C stations. After alighting at the North Satellite station, make your way up on the escalators to the departures level.

On your left, you’ll find another pair of escalators pointing to the Alaska Lounge. Go up the escalators and you’ll find the prominent facade of Alaska Lounge at the very end of the corridor.

Alaska Airlines Lounge

I was able to access the lounge before my American Eagle flight with my oneworld Emerald status on Cathay Pacific. There was initially some confusion as the agent thought I trying to access on an American Airlines First Class boarding pass, meaning that I had to pay. After showing and (re)recording my oneworld Emerald membership status, however, I was granted access without issue.

Lounge Area

To the left of the reception desk, you’ll find the dedicated seating area of the lounge. Here, there is a range of seating options, from work desk-like tables to relaxing chaise longue chairs. The centrepiece, however, is a circular sofa near the reception that envelops the lounge’s beautiful fireplace.

Behind the circular sofa were more seats, particularly facing the windows, boasting some excellent views of the apron. This includes a row of swivelling leather armchairs directly in front of the windows. In addition to the great views, I also liked that the majority of these seats feature power outlets. As such, these seats would probably be my first pick in the lounge.

Deeper into the lounge area, you’ll find a selection of sofa chairs arranged in rows and viewing the windows. Do note that some and not all of these seats feature a power outlet. Although the furniture still looked relatively new, I was surprised by how worn some of them already started looking. I also noticed that some seats were already looking dirty and disorganised, even before midday.

At the far end of the seating area is a row of chaise lounge chairs facing the window. Each padded chair has a console table with a lamp, under which you’ll find a power outlet. Although the windows boast a very nice view of the airport’s main terminal, these chairs are too low for you to fully appreciate the view.

Next to the chaise longues are also several padded booths, each with three to five seats. In addition to the power outlets embedded in the armrests, the portable tables make it an appropriate place to work on your laptop or even watch a movie from a tablet.

Dining Area

Located to the right of the reception is the dining area, where you’ll find the lounge’s sole food spread. As you’d expect, here you’ll find a bunch of seating styles suitable for dining. This includes a range of high-top seats and swivelling seats near the windows, alongside some more proper dining tables and communal tables on the opposite side.

There is just one food spread in the entire lounge, located in the middle of the dining area. The selection of food is rather basic and mediocre, with only two choices of hot dishes. During breakfast, the hot selection included the likes of scrambled eggs and breakfast sausages, accompanied by shredded cheese, salsa, queso, and vegan chorizo.

There was also a selection of cold dishes, like boiled eggs, cubed cheeses, salami, assorted fruits, cottage cheese, and granola. Complementing the spread was also a pancake machine and a toaster, along with an assortment of bread and baked goods.

On the side, there is a Coca-Cola-branded drinks dispenser, in addition to the jugs of orange and cranberry juice on the counter. You’ll also find a selection of Umbria-branded coffee dispensers readily available. However, as you’d expect from a Seattle-based airline, Barista-made coffee is also available on request.

Bar Area

The bar area is at the far end of the lounge, past the dining area. Here, you’ll find a range of high-top bar seats on communal tables and those facing the window, as well as a row of booth seats along the wall. The views from this area are similarly incredible, although sadly there was a heavy cloud of mist during my visit that limited the views.

Since my visit was earlier in the morning, I did not bother checking out the bar or the drinks selection. However, as far as I was aware, most basic drinks are complimentary, although certain drinks are considered premium and incur a charge.

Toilets

The lounge has two toilets, with one located next to the bar and the other behind reception. Both toilets are separated by gender and do not feature shower facilities. At the very least, I found the toilets to be bright, clean, and well-kept. I also liked the provision of nice soaps and body lotion by the sinks.

WiFi

The Alaska Lounge has its own WiFi network, separate from the network offered in the terminal. Annoyingly, the network’s password is only displayed at the reception desk, which is something they could do better on. After connecting to the network, I found that the speeds were reasonably good.

Overall

A crowded lounge with mediocre food is better than no lounge, right? Well, that’s how I felt about the Alaska Lounge. Until Alaska joined in 2021, oneworld frequent flyers flying domestically didn’t have access to a lounge in Seattle, so this was quite the development. While I found the seating to be comfortable, I didn’t find myself staying long given how uncomfortably crowded the lounge got. As such I probably wouldn’t arrive early to visit this lounge before a flight departing Seattle.

Read more from this trip here!