A Southwest Airlines plane takes off from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport on November 7, 2025, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
Tim Evans Reuter
southwest airlines As the airline industry continues to compete for premium travelers, CEO Bob Jordan told CNBC on Wednesday that the airline is “aggressively pursuing” the possibility of opening a network of airport lounges.
“I think lounges are going to be the next big benefit for customers,” Jordan said in an interview. “And then you have a lounge network where you can offer a premium credit card that gives you lounge access.”
Southwest Airlines is discussing potential airport leases and lounges with its credit card partners. tracking. In October, the Dallas-based airline won approval to open an airport lounge at Honolulu’s Daniel K. Inouye International Airport.
Jordan declined to say when the facility, which is likely to become a “network” of airport lounges, would open, but said: “It’s clear that customers want lounges and we are pursuing them.”
“We’re going to make sure we have a network of lounges that meets the needs of the network that we have,” he said.
major carrier delta airlines even small things like jet blue airlinesalong with credit card companies such as: american express, capital one and Chase have been building spaces called airport lounges to attract and retain high-spending consumers.
A J.D. Power report released Wednesday found that 82% of those surveyed said they chose an airline based on lounge access.
Southwest Airlines, which carries more customers domestically than any other airline, has made significant changes to its business model over the past year, especially by eliminating open seats in favor of reserved seats. Under increasing pressure from activist Elliott Investment Management, the company earlier this year began charging customers for bag checks in a bid to boost profits.
Southwest began offering free Wi-Fi to loyalty program members this fall. Jordan said the company is open to pursuing other inflight providers for inflight internet, including SpaceX’s Starlink service. united airlines I started using it recently.
