Early Look: Inside Southwest’s Upcoming Lounges

Southwest Airlines' airport lounges are still more than a year away from opening, but we now have the first real glimpse of what they will actually look like inside. Southwest shared an exclusive first rendering with NerdWallet of its planned lounge at Nashville International Airport (BNA) in Tennessee, one of four inaugural locations in the airline's first-ever lounge network, which will be called Southwest Icon.

Concept art released on Oct. 15, 2026, depicts a long, sweeping curved bar that looks like something you’d see at a high-end hotel. Unlike the primary colors of Southwest’s brand, this rendering is a warm palette of copper and bronze tones in the built-in design, plus burgundy lounge chairs.

Southwest says each lounge in its new network will be locally inspired, meaning the look and feel of the Nashville lounge depicted here won’t necessarily be what to expect at the other three inaugural locations, which are Austin, Texas; Baltimore; and Honolulu.

The news comes the same day that Southwest announced a slew of changes to its Rapid Rewards program, including how you earn its famous Companion Pass.

What to know about Southwest’s first-ever lounge network

Southwest does not currently have any lounges, but it has announced plans to open lounges in the following four airports:

• Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS).

• Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI).

• Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu (HNL).

• Nashville International Airport (BNA).

Construction is already underway at all four locations, with the first lounges expected to open in late 2027. Southwest has also said it expects to open at least seven more lounges in the coming years, though it has not named airports yet.

The lounges are being developed in partnership with Chase, which runs its own Chase Sapphire Reserve Lounge Network. That lounge network ranks among the best in the U.S. for its iconic features including a champagne parlor in Las Vegas and a whiskey lounge in Dallas.

Southwest has not yet revealed any details about what extras might be inside its lounges, aside from the typical bar and bites.

"The experience is going to be very elevated and premium, but at the same time very warm and truly Southwest,” says Nandika Suri, Southwest's vice president of Rapid Rewards.

How to access Southwest lounges

Lounges have become notorious for overcrowding, but these Southwest ones may not have that problem.

"We are not designing lounges where folks will have to wait in long lines," Suri says.

Flyers will be able to access the lounge network through a new premium Southwest credit card issued by Chase set to launch sometime in 2027. For now, specifics on that card are slim, including what the annual fee and other benefits will be. For context, the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, which is the bank’s most premium credit card, has a $795 annual fee.

Within the Southwest consumer card lineup, the highest-end card so far is the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card, which has a $229 annual fee.

Southwest has yet to share details around access, so it's still unclear whether cardholders will get unlimited visits, a capped number of passes per year or guest access.