British Airways has been working on improving its lounge network, including renovating lounges that are past their prime. The airline has just unveiled its new lounge at Seattle Tacoma International Airport (SEA), and it looks great!
New British Airways Lounge SeaTac unveiled
British Airways’ new Seattle lounge has just opened its doors, following an extensive refurbishment. The lounge’s redesign is described as taking inspiration from the Pacific Northwest, while also incorporating “British design elegance.”
The lounge features textile artwork by Hannah Mason and Vacilando Studios, and the decor highlights Seattle’s identity as a City of Music, with Haptic Lab additions. The lounge heavily uses warm tones, marble stone surfaces, and opal glass lamps, with soft shapes.
The lounge has a completely redesigned food service area, offering a range of hot and cold items, plus an a la carte dining area for passengers traveling in first class. The lounge also has a new full service bar, which acts as the centerpiece of the lounge.
While this lounge is primarily for premium British Airways customers (first and business class customers, oneworld Emerald and Sapphire members, etc.), it’s also used as the contract lounge for carriers like Japan Airlines, Qatar Airways, etc. In theory, this lounge should follow standard oneworld lounge access policies, though British Airways is notorious for playing games with access rules for its outstation lounges, on the basis of capacity constraints.
The Seattle location joins Singapore (SIN), Washington (IAD), Lagos (LOS), and London (LGW), where lounges have been updated over the past year. Next up as part of this project is a redesign of lounges in Dubai (DXB) and Boston (BOS), plus an all-new lounge in Miami (MIA), with an even more updated design concept. Then in 2026, we’ll see a full redevelopment of lounges in London (LHR).
Here’s how British Airways Chief Customer Officer Calum Laming describes these lounge investments:
“We announced our £7bn transformation programme last year and promised to improve the customer experience both on the ground and in the air. Across our global network we have 28 lounges in 20 airports that all play a huge part in our customers’ journeys, so we’re committed to offering the very best experience.
“Just like our customers and colleagues, each lounge is unique. Customers can expect to see nods to our British heritage blended seamlessly with features that celebrate the locality of the destination. We’ve worked with local designers, artists, and suppliers across the globe to ensure that each lounge has its own British Original personality – and we can’t wait to unveil more.”
I’m impressed by British Airways’ lounge redesign
I recently visited British Airways’ refreshed lounge in Washington, and I was super impressed. I thought the design was beautiful, the food quality was good, and I loved having a staffed bar. I’ll be publishing a review soon, but I enjoyed it way more than I was expecting to.
As much as I’m critical of British Airways at times, the airline is doing a good job with its lounge redesign, and I’m happy to see these continued investments. The Seattle location was most definitely in need of a refresh, so customers will appreciate this.
What’s perhaps most interesting to me is that the current lounge designs we’re seeing aren’t even the carrier’s brand new lounge concept, as that’s apparently launching soon. I’m happy that my home airport of Miami will be one of the first to get that new design.
Bottom line
British Airways has just opened its newest refreshed lounge, at Seattle Tacoma International Airport. The lounge was desperately in need of a refresh, and I’d say these changes look great. Not only is the lounge cozy and elegant, but I love that it has a first class dining section and a proper bar.
What do you make of British Airways’ refreshed lounge in Seattle?
