People really want a Chase Sapphire Lounge at the Phoenix airport. What's the holdup?
Nearly one year ago, The Club Airport Lounges opened its first Chase Sapphire Lounge.
The inaugural location in Boston was soon followed by lounges in Hong Kong and both New York City airports, John F. Kennedy International Airport and LaGuardia Airport.
Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport is supposed to get a Chase Sapphire Lounge, too. It was announced along with a slate of amenities such as new restaurants and shops that would anchor the high-numbered D gates in the eighth concourse of Terminal 4, which opened in June 2022.
But Sky Harbor’s Chase Sapphire Lounge, which Phoenix Aviation Services Director Chad Makovsky said he was told could open by March or April 2024, remains under construction.
Why?
Here’s what we know about the Phoenix airport’s Chase Sapphire Lounge and the long road to its opening.
Also of interest if you're planning to fly from Phoenix this year, airlines continue to add new routes, like JetBlue's expanded service to New York City, Boston and Fort Lauderdale, Frontier Airlines' new cheap flights to Missoula, Montana, and Los Cabos, Mexico, and Breeze Airways' seasonal flights to Norfolk, Virginia.
Is the Chase Sapphire Lounge Phoenix open?
Near the end of 2023, Makovsky said Chase staff told his team that a spring 2024 opening was likely.
But the airport posted Feb. 28 on X, formerly Twitter, "We have not received an opening date from Chase yet but we can confirm it’s turning out beautifully. We will notify our customers via our social media platforms as soon as we get a date confirmed."
Chase declined to provide updates on the progress of the lounge or when it might open.
Phoenix Sky Harbor's new terminal: When it will be built and how big it will be
Why is Chase Sapphire Lounge taking so long to open in Phoenix?
Past interviews with Sky Harbor staff suggest construction issues caused delays, which also prolonged work on the first batch of restaurants and shops in the new concourse, which serves Southwest Airlines.
One of the more pressing items with the construction took place at the start of the year: safely maneuvering an elaborate centerpiece into the lounge.
The Chase Sapphire Lounge in Phoenix will feature an Airstream trailer as its focal point. Makovsky said the process of getting the trailer into the airport terminal is painstaking.
“We’ve got to take a window out and hoist it into the concourse to get it into the place,” Makovsky told The Arizona Republic in December 2023. “It will be a really cool feature when it opens, but the logistics are challenging.”
The Airstream trailer was moved into the Sapphire Lounge space in January, airport spokesman Greg Roybal said.
What is the Chase Sapphire Lounge?
Sky Harbor Airport first announced the Chase Sapphire Lounge in March 2022, following the project's approval from the Phoenix City Council. The new lounge will occupy 3,500 square feet and feature local elements and a curated food menu.
When it opens, the Chase Sapphire Lounge will be open to Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders and Priority Pass members, plus people who purchase day passes. Passengers flying with any airline will be able to use the lounge.
When Sky Harbor staff considered who should operate the lounge, they stated they were looking for a concessionaire who could "develop the quality and uniqueness of the lounge facility (and) emphasize local culture in the design of the facility and in food and beverage offerings," city documents showed.
The Chase Sapphire Lounge was promoted as one of the amenities of a new concourse for Southwest Airlines flights in Terminal 4. That concourse was first used for flights in June 2022, while its restaurants and shops – including a burger restaurant from celebrity chef Bobby Flay and airport locations of Chick-fil-A, Eegee’s and Pedal Haus – opened in August and September 2023.
What does Chase Sapphire Lounge have?
While specific details of the lounge aren't available, the Chase Sapphire Lounge that opened in May 2023 near Terminal B at Boston Logan International Airport may offer hints.
The 11,640-square-foot Boston lounge – more than triple the size of the upcoming Sapphire Lounge in Phoenix – includes a taproom with beer from Boston breweries, coffee from a local roaster and seasonal food menus by James Beard Award-winning Boston chef Douglass Williams. Other amenities include wellness rooms, nursing rooms and showers, according to Chase.
Reviews of the Boston lounge are mostly positive, with a 4.4 rating on Google and Yelp and 4 out of 5 stars on Tripadvisor.
A Yelp user named Steff A. from Henderson, Nevada, described Boston's Sapphire Lounge as "my current champion of airport lounges," complimenting the staff, the selection and quality of food and cocktails, and a "high tech" coffee machine with abundant options.
Michael Salerno is an award-winning journalist who’s covered travel and tourism since 2014. His work as The Arizona Republic’s consumer travel reporter aims to help readers navigate the stresses of traveling and get the best value for their money on their vacations. He can be reached at Michael.Salerno@gannett.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @salerno_phx.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Chase Sapphire Lounge: Why it isn't open at Phoenix Sky Harbor yet
