Seattle’s Priority Pass Lounges Make $12 Million Profit—While Heating Omelets On An Office Filing Cabinet

Seattle’s two Priority Pass lounges made about $12 million in profit last year. But a February audit by their own operator found one serving roughly 1,000 guests a day with breakfast omelets heated in a microwave perched on an office filing cabinet and no dedicated food preparation sink. Priority Pass pays about $24 per visit, while food and drinks cost just $3.54 per guest. The Port of Seattle collects the profit, and the company that owns Priority Pass also owns the operator paid to run the lounges. Here’s an interesting window into the economics of Priority Pass and airport lounges. They generated over $18 million in revenue last year off more than 700,000 visits. And they cost relatively little to run. When Airport Dimensions audited the Concourse A lounge in February, it found a kitchen serving roughly 1,000 people a day without a dedicated food preparation sink, and heating breakfast omelets in a microwave perched on an office filing cabinet. Priority Pass pays about $24 per visit. Food and drinks cost just $3.54 per guest. Usually a lounge operator leases airport space, pays to build it out, covers its costs and keeps the profit. Seattle’s arrangement is different. The Port of Seattle paid for the lounges and hired Airport Dimensions, which is owned by the same company as Priority Pass, to manage them. The Port receives the profit and Airport Dimensions earns management and incentive fees. Airline-contracted visits brought in about $35 each. Day passes cost more but day passes accounted for only about 1% of visits. Most of this business came from Priority Pass cards (and most of those would have been billed to banks). Originally the South concourse lounge was projected to close at the end of summer for the S Concourse construction project but that was pushed off. Projected 2026 results — both lounges operating all year Full-year 2026 projection Concourse A South Satellite Combined Guest visits 339,307 376,268 715,575 Revenue $8,280,348 $10,654,826 $18,935,174 Operating costs before management fees $4,420,063 $4,129,194 $8,549,257 Base management fees $424,501 $424,501 $849,002 Management incentive fees $287,458 $396,720 $684,178 Operating profit $3,148,326 $5,704,411 $8,852,737 This shows a 46.8% operating margin across the two lounges, after management fees. Operating expenses run less than $12 against $24 in revenue for most visits while paying out to Airport Dimensions is what pushes costs over 50%. Concourse A is almost entirely a Priority Pass lounge (99%) while the South Concourse lounge generates visits as a contract lounge for several airlines, and since those are billed at a higher rate the margin on that lounge is higher. The heaviest users have been Japan Airlines; EVA Air; ANA; and Lufthansa while Qatar, Emirates, Singapore Airlines, Turkish Airlines and others sent passengers as well. And the infrastructure just can’t handle the volume. The February 2026 review of the Concourse A club found: Construction intended to expand the space has been halted, resulting in a kitchen that is now even smaller than before. The reduced footprint is not adequate for the storage, preparation, or service processes required to maintain safe food handling practices at this level of demand. Breakfast preparation had moved into an office. The kitchen lacked the space and power for the microwave used to heat omelets. It sat on a filing cabinet in a carpeted office that wasn’t approved for food preparation. There was no dedicated produce preparation sink. Unwashed produce arrived at the lounge, while the three-compartment sink was being used to hold dish racks waiting for the dishwasher, and created contamination risk if that sink was also used for food preparation. Food on the buffet lacked discard times. The lounge was using time as its control for foods that otherwise require temperature control, but containers weren’t marked with their four-hour discard time. Soup reheating and hot-holding temperatures also weren’t being recorded. The handwashing sink was partially blocked. A rolling cart obstructed access to the sink and ice machine because there wasn’t enough room for it in the kitchen. Refrigeration and storage were overwhelmed. The walk-in was packed so tightly that food was stored on the floor and proper circulation was restricted. Food was also stored under plumbing. The kitchen didn’t have a freezer. Food storage had spread into a carpeted former conference room. That room also held refrigeration and served as an employee break room. Soy sauce was sitting directly on a bucket of detergent. The buffet had moved onto carpet because of inadequate power elsewhere. Sneeze guards weren’t properly covering cut melon and muffins. Equipment was being improvised. A milk crate and cutting board supported a large rice cooker. Shelves were lined with cardboard. Part of a kitchen wall had duct tape on it. The dishwasher was an undercounter model ordinarily used for glassware, pressed into constant service for the entire operation. There were also allergen-storage and utensil-handling problems, inadequate ventilation, a household power strip supplying a soup warmer, and equipment stacked within half an inch of the ceiling in a room with a sprinkler. The internal review by Airport Dimensions described staff trying to prepare, store, serve and clean up after food for roughly 1,000 daily guests in a kitchen that had become smaller during an interrupted expansion. An Airport Dimensions spokesperson shares, Airport Dimensions specifically requested a third-party review at The Club SEA in February to assess the operational impacts of an airport construction project that caused a reduction to the lounge’s kitchen facilities. Following the review, we identified opportunities to further strengthen food handling procedures to mitigate the facility reduction impacts and immediately implemented corrective actions. The lounge was subsequently inspected on March 23rd by Public Health Seattle & King County and received a ‘Good’ food safety rating. The Club SEA is operated by Sodexo under license from Airport Dimensions. The premises are owned and maintained by the Port of Seattle. Airport Dimensions and Sodexo maintain a comprehensive food safety program through daily operational checks, independent EcoSure assessments and ongoing internal quality audits. This underpins our commitment to providing a safe, welcoming and high-quality lounge experience for every guest. The plan now for Concourse A is a move into the United Club at A9, taking over their current 6,096 square foot space once the new United Club in the old Centurion lounge space on Concourse B is complete. That would free The Club’s current space and the adjacent unfinished expansion for a roughly 16,000 square foot Chase Sapphire Lounge, provided the Port approves the deal. Commissioners postponed the lease vote until October 27 because they didn’t understand what Chase Sapphire was, and were concerned that reserving space for a bank’s customers was inequitable (though they’ve had no similar issues with regards to American Express space). I reached out to Airport Dimensions for comment on Thursday morning. I will update if they respond. Topics on this page