My wife and I made an unscheduled trip to LA earlier this week. Unusually light LA traffic on the return meant a very early arrival at LAX for the return, so we headed over to check out the Alaska Lounge. We flew American out of Terminal 4, so the Korean Air Lounge at TBIT was actually closer. However, with nearly 2 hours to kill before boarding, I wanted to check out the Alaska Lounge. So, we made the hearty walk over to Terminal 6.
See also: James’ guide to changing terminals at LAX, including using the connector from T4 to T6.
Alaska Lounge LAX
Location
Between Gates 64A and 64B, one floor up from the concourse. The elevator is next to the “Alaska Lounge” sign pictured above. If arriving from the connector, look for Peet’s Coffee straight ahead. The sign and elevator are just next door.
Access
The Alaska Lounge LAX provides access to the following passengers:
- Alaska Airlines and Virgin America paid or award First Class passengers (no upgrades)
- Alaska Lounge and American Airlines Admirals Club members
- Priority Pass cardholders plus two guests
Anyone may also purchase a Day Pass for $45. The Alaska Lounge is open daily from 5 am until midnight. Note that while Priority Pass members can access the lounge, Alaska often restricts access. On my first attempt in November, I saw the dreaded sign instructing Priority Pass members to get lost due to capacity constraints. This time, at 4 pm on a Monday, we encountered no issues.
Review
After checking in at the front desk, we headed right, which opened up into a large open seating area. Power outlets are a little hard to find at first. However, look behind the tables and between the chairs, and you should find plenty. You can also find a large screen TV towards the front desk.
Behind the main seating area is one row of rather uncomfortable looking small tables.
You’ll also find a departures board between the front desk and the main seating area. Alaska provides a selection of magazines on the rack below the departures board.
Large floor-to-ceiling windows dominate the back wall, providing great views of the ramp and Terminal 7.
For avgeeks, the lounge features a row of 2-person tables all along the windows. Clearly some folks were enjoying the planespotting.
A small business center makes up the back of the lounge, with several partitioned cubicles. Helpfully, each cubicle includes a two-plug power outlet, making it easy to charge multiple devices. A commercial-grade copier/printer is also provided.
Next to the bathrooms, the lounge includes a couple of private phone rooms if you need quiet space.
One complaint: the lounge’s WiFi network was agonizingly slow. As in, so slow, I couldn’t even pull up basic functions like Instagram. I ended up disabling the WiFi and just using my phone’s data. That is unacceptable for an airport lounge, though hopefully just a one-off problem during my visit.
Feeling hungry? The lounge offers a fair selection of snacks at a self-service snack station. The setup included fresh fruit, hot soup, crackers, cheese cubes, salad, and cookies. Interestingly, it looks like the staff change the soup every couple of hours. It was chicken noodle when we arrived, but switched to minestrone with cheese tortellini about an hour later. There’s also a small menu with items like sandwiches and pizza for $8 a pop, but nothing looked that great.
And of course, the signature Alaska Lounge pancake machine, though it wasn’t operational at 4 pm.
I had a cup of the minestrone, which was pretty good. My wife had the salad, which also looked fresh and tasty.
The main food area also contains a Coke soda foundation (not pictured), Starbucks drip coffee, and a machine for espresso drinks. I tried my luck with a Cafe Mocha. No, it wasn’t as good what you’d get at a coffee shop, but it was alright.
If you want adult beverages, step up to the bar for complimentary beer and wine. Similar to the Alaska Lounge Portland, Alaska stocks its lounges with local wines and signature microbrews. Unlike the Portland lounge, this lounge is fully stocked, though premium wines, spirits, and cocktails do carry a charge.
Service wise, though I found the check-in agent rather cold, the rest of the staff I encountered were great. The bartender saw my wife and I sitting at a table by the windows, and asked if we’d prefer something more comfortable. Lounge staff also did a good job keeping tables cleared, food stocked, etc.
Alaska Lounge LAX – Final Thoughts
Rocky reviewed this lounge shortly after it opened in 2012, and it looks like it hasn’t changed much. In this case, that’s a good thing. As domestic lounges go, it’s a comfortable lounge, with a decent food and beverage selection and pleasant staff. Hopefully the WiFi issue was a one-time thing, though if it’s always that slow, it’s a problem. Overall, it’s a good Priority Pass option at LAX – assuming you can get in, that is.
