New Delta Sky Club Coming to HNL: 3 New Lounges for Honolulu
Aloha ʻohana. Big news for our home airport, and I'm going to say this slowly because it still feels a little unreal: Honolulu is not getting one new lounge, not even two, but possibly three brand new airline lounges in the coming years. Delta, Alaska, and Southwest have all quietly moved paperwork through the Hawaii Department of Transportation, and the lease documents are now public. For those of us flying out of HNL every few weeks on points and miles, this is about as close to a holiday as airport news gets.
I want to focus mostly on the Delta development because that one is personal for me (I was just in the current Delta Sky Club this past Monday) and because the access list for a Sky Club touches a lot of our readers, from Medallion flyers to Amex Platinum cardholders. But I'll walk you through all three so you have the full picture.
The Big News: Three New Lounges Coming to HNL
After digging through the Hawaii DOT lease filings, we can confirm three separate leases are now on the books for Honolulu airport:
- Delta Air Lines: A brand new Sky Club in Terminal 2, approximately 12,280 square feet, 10-year lease, with a minimum $8 million investment in build-out.
- Alaska Airlines: A premium lounge in the Inter-Island Terminal, approximately 14,022 square feet, 20-year lease, with a minimum $15 million investment in build-out.
- Southwest Airlines: A lounge whose footprint was expanded from the original plan first approved last fall.
All three leases are for roughly similar-sized spaces, and every single one of them is bigger than what Delta currently has at HNL today. If you have ever tried to find a seat at the current Sky Club on a busy Sunday night red-eye push, you already understand why this matters.
What We Know About the New Delta Sky Club
This is where the lease filing gets specific. Delta's new Sky Club will sit in Terminal 2, spanning two buildings on the second level: the Diamond Head Domestic Extension (Building 341) and the Diamond Head Connecting Link (Building 363). The space is split across four rooms totaling 12,280 square feet, and it's adjacent to gate F2.
For context, the current Delta Sky Club at HNL is across from gate G1 and is noticeably smaller. So we're not just getting a refresh, we're getting a significantly bigger footprint in a different part of the terminal.
A few more numbers from the lease filing that tell you how serious Delta is:
- Rental rate: $156.14 per square foot per year (the standard signatory airline rate for Fiscal Year 2025).
- Minimum build-out investment: $8 million.
- Rent waiver: The state is waiving rent for the first 12 months, conditional on Delta actually making substantial improvements to the space.
- Lease term: 10 years, commencing upon execution of the lease, which was approved on March 27, 2026.
- History: The filing notes that Delta has been operating in Hawaii since 1984, and the state cited growing passenger volume to Honolulu as the reason for the new lounge.
An $8 million minimum build-out across 12,280 square feet is real money. Delta has been investing heavily in flagship Sky Clubs across the country, and while the lease doesn't say "Sky Club" versus "Delta One Lounge," the size, investment level, and signatory airline language all point to a proper full-service Sky Club, not a premium cabin-only space.
Official Floor Plans From the Lease Filing
The HDOT lease filing actually includes the floor plans for all four rooms that will make up the new Delta Sky Club. I pulled them out so you can see exactly where this lounge will live inside Terminal 2. These are straight from the official lease exhibits.
Add it all up and you get the 12,280 square feet Delta committed to on the lease. Seeing it mapped out like this makes the scale real: this is not a touch-up of the existing Sky Club, this is a genuine new build in a better part of the terminal.
Who Gets Into Delta Sky Club HNL
This is the part I know a lot of you care about. If Delta is building a bigger, nicer lounge at our home airport, the question becomes: am I getting in? Here are the usual ways to access a Delta Sky Club on a same-day Delta-operated flight:
- Delta Medallion status: Platinum Medallion and Diamond Medallion members get access when flying Delta or a SkyTeam partner on an international itinerary. Silver and Gold Medallion do not get standard Sky Club access on their own.
- Delta 360° invited members: Delta's top invite-only tier, full access.
- Delta One and Delta Premium Select passengers: Access when flying on a qualifying international ticket.
- Amex Platinum Card and Amex Business Platinum Card: Access when flying Delta the same day, subject to the current annual visit cap (currently 10 visits per year, unless you hit the spend threshold to unlock unlimited).
- Delta Reserve and Delta Reserve Business cardholders: Access when flying Delta, subject to the card's current visit rules.
- The Platinum Card from American Express Centurion cardholders: Same rules as Platinum.
Sky Club access is always tied to a same-day Delta-operated boarding pass. Unlike Priority Pass, you cannot walk in just because you have the card. That's why a bigger, less crowded HNL lounge is such a big deal for kamaʻāina who regularly fly Delta to the mainland.
Alaska Airlines Premium Lounge at HNL
The Alaska lounge is technically the biggest of the three at 14,022 square feet, and it comes with the longest commitment (a 20-year lease) and the largest build-out investment ($15 million minimum). It will sit in Building 305 on the second level of the Mauka Extension of the Inter-Island Terminal.
Based on the location and the scale, this looks like the same premium lounge concept that Alaska first previewed back when they announced a flagship Hawaii lounge design. The early design direction leaned into natural Hawaiian elements, sculptural forms, and bold colors, which fits what Alaska has been building out post-Hawaiian merger as they shift everything over to the Atmos Rewards universe.
For Atmos Rewards members and Alaska Mileage Plan legacy flyers, this is going to be your new home base at HNL. More details should come as construction plans move forward.
Southwest Is Joining the Party Too
The Southwest story is a little different. Southwest doesn't traditionally run airport lounges (this is a new strategy for the airline as a whole), and HNL is in their growing pipeline of planned lounge locations. The Southwest plan at HNL was originally approved last fall at a smaller footprint and was then upsized.
There's less public detail on the Southwest lease terms right now, but it's the third leg of the stool. If you're a Companion Pass holder or a regular Southwest flyer from HNL to the West Coast, you're looking at another new option down the line.
When Could These Lounges Actually Open?
No lounge has an official announced opening date yet, so this is the part where I have to do a bit of educated guessing. Here's how I'm reading the timeline:
- The Delta lease was approved March 27, 2026, with the rent waiver window set at 12 months. That strongly implies Delta is expected to be in active construction during that first year.
- Airport lounge build-outs typically run 18 to 30 months from lease signing to doors open, especially when you factor in design, permitting, and HDOT coordination.
- Realistic opening window for the new Delta Sky Club: late 2027 to mid 2028. If things move quickly, possibly earlier. If things drag, 2029 is not out of the question.
- Alaska and Southwest: Similar window, probably staggered. The Alaska lounge at 20 years and $15 million in build-out is the most ambitious of the three, so don't be surprised if it opens last.
I'll update this post the moment any of the three airlines puts out an official opening date.
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Get my free plan →Scottie's Take
I'm genuinely excited to see our airport get an upgrade like this. HNL is the front door for a lot of us, and for way too long our lounge options haven't matched how much we actually travel. Three new lounges, all bigger than what's there today, at our home airport? Yes please.
I do love our current Delta Sky Club, I really do. I was just there this past Monday before a mainland flight and it does the job. But anyone who has flown out of HNL on a busy evening knows that "does the job" means standing by the door waiting for a seat. A larger Sky Club adjacent to F2 is going to be a real quality-of-life upgrade for Delta Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Diamond Medallion flyers, Delta 360° members, and every kamaʻāina walking in on an Amex Platinum or Delta Reserve card. More room means shorter waits, more showers, better food stations, and a lounge that actually feels like a place to relax before a 6-hour flight back to the mainland.
My honest bottom line: this is the most exciting HNL news in a while, and the Delta piece specifically feels overdue. I'll be watching the construction permits closely and I'll report back as soon as we get an opening date. In the meantime, if you're a Delta flyer from Hawaii, now is a good time to start thinking about whether Platinum Medallion or the Delta Reserve card makes sense for your travel patterns.
Were you hoping for a specific airline to get a lounge here, or are you happy with the three on the list? Drop a comment below or send me a note. I love hearing how you use HNL.
