Before flying home to Los Angeles, I stopped by the United Club in Seattle (SEA), a solid outstation lounge for United Airlines.
United Club Seattle Review (SEA)
I almost skipped this lounge (after spending some time in the nearby The Club SEA), but when my flight was delayed I stopped in…and was glad I did.
I accessed the lounge via my Chase-United co-branded Club card (Need one or any other credit card? Apply here and support Live And Let’s Fly)
Access + Hours + Location
The lounge is located in Concourse A, mezzanine level, near gate A10. It is open daily from 4:15 am to 10:p0 pm. It is a bit of a walk from the security checkpoint to the lounge, even if you use the closer Security Checkpoints 1 or 2.
Access is reserved for United Club members, Chase United Club Visa holders, Star Alliance Gold travelers, and international business or first class passengers traveling on any Star Alliance flight.
Furthermore, one-time passes are accepted (oddly, a rule just went into effect limiting one-time pass access to three hours prior to departure of your flight, but only on Saturdays and Sundays). These are distributed to Chase MileagePlus Explorer credit card holders or can be purchased at the door for $59. Note that if you hold a Star Alliance Gold card from United Airlines (Premier Gold or higher), you can only access the lounge when traveling in conjunction with an international itinerary.
Those who have a Star Gold card from other programs can use the lounge when traveling on any Star Alliance flight in any class of service. Also note that from SEA, United does not give premium cabin passengers access on domestic flights without status.
Global Services passengers are also allowed complimentary entrance.
Seating
As you enter the lounge, there are “phone rooms” on the left that will give you some privacy. Then on both the right and left sides, there is a seating area. This lounge is certainly on the small side, yet it was mostly empty on Saturday afternoon at 4:15 pm.
Food + Drink
Just past the entrance is a self-serve beverage area with water, tea, and coffee (including an automatic espresso machine). Unless I missed it, there was no Coke Freestyle machine, meaning you’ll need to ask at the bar if you want a soft drink.
In the rear of the lounge, past blue panels, is a food and drink area. On the left is a bar and around it is a buffet with hot and cold items.
The afternoon selections included:
- salad bar
- soup (broccoli cheese)
- pasta (conchiglie with arugulaa cream)
- grilled lemon herb chicken
- meat and cheese platter
- sandwiches (roast beef and Caprese)
- whole fruit
- mixed nuts
- trail mix
- Rice Krispie treats
I enjoyed a nice green salad with beets, cucumbers, and Parmesan cheese.
Restrooms
Restooms are located in the lounge, but there are no showers.
Service
While I did not catch her name, the agent who checked me in and said goodbye could not have been kinder. She’s pictured below (and was happy to be included in my pictures). I’m sure some of you regulars know her.
CONCLUSION
United offers a small but comfortable outstation lounge in Seattle, with a respectable selection of food and drinks. The food was better than the dinner served on my flight, so this is certainly somewhere I would eat if I was hungry and it is also a quiet place to wait for your flight, at least on a Saturday afternon.
United will eventually be moving to the B concourse and will have a new United club when they move. They will be switching with Delta which will allow more access and flexibility to use the new Delta lounge as well as the gates that are connected to the international arrivals facilities.
When will that move occur?
It looks like the current timeframe is Q1 2025 as the port has identified some code issues that have be resolved which delayed work. I have found a link to the ports meeting notes from Feb 14, 2023.
https://meetings.portseattle.org/index.php?option=com_meetings&view=meetingattachment&fmt=html&id=456064
I also found what seems to be the primary reason for the move. Which is directly from the link above. “United Airlines faces the very distinct possibility of being forced off their preferential gates on Concourse A to hardstand operations during the international peak. This would create significant inefficiencies for United Airlines and diminish the benefit of their preferential rights as well as their overall level of service.”
their overall level of service.
It’s funny seeing SEA described as an outstation. It wasn’t that long ago when there were two lounges and TPAC flights. SAT is an outstation; SEA is just a “Club Location.”
Yes, though that has been many years now, but we recall when the median age of a flight attendant working the Narita flight from SEA was over 80…
Want to get your steps in? Fly UA out of SEA.
I’m confused. The UA club that moved from “N” to “A”in 2021 is moving to “B”? I see the Artisan Board is MIA and the soups gone with the wind. The bar is overpriced.
I’m surprised UA is moving as well…again.
DL seems to be good at staying on top of renovations to jump at the opportunity to get the newest gates. They got AS bumped to their gates in favor of the new Terminal A at EWR, and they look to move into the new terminal at SAN when that’s done, as well
When I was last at the UA SEA Club (my home airport), I was talking to the intake agent about UA losing gates in A Terminal (it used to be all UA) and she indicated that they were moving from A. As DL has expanded at SEA while UA has contracted, the SEA airport is moving folks around to make better use of the gates and keep airline gates together. I don’t remember the time frame she indicated.