Raleigh-Durham is getting a free, 24-hour Pepsi lounge. Do not expect a buffet

News and analysis · Sources checked October 6, 2026.

Raleigh-Durham International will open a free lounge in Terminal 2 by the end of the year, paid for by Pepsi. The Airport Authority says the space, in the former BurgerFi and Jason's Deli unit, will be open 24 hours to anyone in the terminal, with tables and chairs for eating or working, televisions and two Pepsi vending machines (The News & Observer via AOL). No membership, card or ticket class is required (The Points Guy).

Pepsi Bottling Ventures holds the soft-drink contract at RDU and, according to the airport's concessions manager, had been proposing the idea for a couple of years before a unit came free. The paper reports the bottler runs similar spaces at Reagan National and Philadelphia; we were not able to confirm details of those independently. The arrangement runs for at least a year, with the restaurant kitchen boxed off behind temporary walls so a food tenant can move in later.

What it is and is not#

Be clear about what you get. There is no food, no bar, no staff, no showers, and the two drinks machines are vending machines, not a fridge of free cans. The board chair's own description of the problem was that passengers at RDU end up eating off their laps at the gate because the terminal has so few tables that are not inside a restaurant. This fixes that. It is closer to a well-furnished waiting area with a sponsor's logo than to anything the airlines call a lounge.

The 24-hour part is the real feature. The three airline clubs in Terminal 2 all shut in the evening: the Delta Sky Club closes at 19:45 most days, the United Club at 19:30 and the Admirals Club at 20:00. Anyone on a delayed last departure, or arriving for a 5 a.m. flight, currently has nowhere to sit with a plug. RDU has no Priority Pass lounge and no bank lounge, and is not on the announced lists for Chase, Capital One or Amex. For a top-40 US airport in the middle of a $2.5 billion rebuild, that is a thin set of options, which is presumably why the Authority said yes.

Sponsored free lounges as a trend#

We would like to tell you this is the start of something, but the evidence is thin. Airports have long hosted free USO lounges for military travelers, and RDU has one. Credit-card issuers have tried free-to-cardholder pop-ups, most visibly the Chase Sapphire Terrace in Austin, which has since closed. What Pepsi is doing is different: a consumer brand paying an airport for a captive audience and the right to be the only drink on offer. It costs the airport nothing, it fills a dead unit, and it is reversible.

That makes it attractive to other mid-size airports with the same seating problem, and we expect a few more deals like it. We would be surprised to see one in a terminal with a Centurion or Sapphire Lounge nearby, because the brands that fund airport space want to be seen next to premium, not next to a vending machine.

Practical advice for RDU flyers#

If you have access to an airline club and a daytime flight, use it; the Pepsi lounge is not competing with them. If you are flying before 5 a.m. or after 8 p.m., or on a basic economy fare that the clubs will not admit, the new space will be the best seat in the terminal. Bring your own coffee.

Our take#

Every airport should have free, quiet seating with power, and it is slightly embarrassing that it took a soda company to provide it at Raleigh-Durham. But credit where it is due: the Authority identified the complaint passengers actually make, which is not about champagne but about tables, and solved it without spending its own money. The branding is a small price. The one thing we would watch is the "at least a year" lease. If a restaurant tenant turns up in 2028 and the seats go, the airport will have taught its passengers to expect something it cannot keep.

Related reading#

• British Airways reward cancellations: the 24-hour cutoff is not a free-booking promise