Escape Opens New Lounge at Northwest Arkansas Airport (XNA)
Northwest Arkansas Airport (XNA) has opened its first-ever lounge to customers. The 2,300 square foot Northwest Arkansas Escape Lounge is located in the opening of the A1-A11 gate area and is open 03:45 to 18:30 (Mon, Tue, Wed, Fri, and Sat) and from 03:45 to 21:45 (Thu and Sun).
The lounge appears on par with other Escape lounges, offering limited dining, a full bar, various beverage options, charging stations, Wi-Fi, and dedicated work areas, with seating for 50 passengers. The lounge also partnered with PressReader to provide lounge customers with electronic magazines and newspapers. Food and beverage service stops 30 minutes before closing.
The lounge offers locally sourced food and beverages from Confident Coffee Roasters and Social Project Brewing Co. and various hot and cold dishes and drinks.
Access to the lounge can be obtained by pre-booking online or paying at the lounge, with prices starting at $45 per person (with an introductory walk-in price of $29.95). Complementary access is offered to Priority Pass members, American Express Platinum, and Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Card members (provided you are traveling on a Delta-marketed flight that day).
The Escape Lounge network is growing; there are 22 lounges across three countries (Australia, the US, and the UK), with six new locations soon opening. Currently, 19 of the Escape Lounges are partnered with Priority Pass to allow easy and expanded access to many customers. XNA airport offers 26 nonstop destinations, provided by six airlines, and surpassed 1.1 million enplanements in 2024.
Closing Thoughts: I flew to XNA in February 2022 and was impressed with the airport, but I did miss not being able to visit a lounge. The new lounge opens at 3:45 am, which is earlier than most lounges around the globe. This addition is great for the Bentonville area, which is home to Walmart and is centrally located in the United States.