Dreading holiday travel? Us too. But PDX flyers holiday season can rest easy knowing they’ll be catching a flight out of the country’s best airport. (Thanks, Travel & Leisure, we already knew that.) And if you’re flying Alaska Airlines this season, you’ll begin your journey through the new Concourse B.

Formerly Concourse A, the newly renovated area, designed by ZGF Architects and constructed by Hoffman Skanska Joint Venture, is bigger and brighter, with more than 8,900-square-feet of south-facing windows bringing in all the light—well, what little comes through the clouds during winter. Draping and lush plants in cute silver planters adorn the area with color, and wood paneling (white oak sourced from sustainably managed forests within 60 miles of Salem) wrapped around the north-facing wall feel cozy and cabin-like. Throughout Concourse B travelers will find three interactive installations by RYAN! Feddersen, a Tacoma-based artist and enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation.

“For those of you who remember dark, cramped Concourse A, you’re in for a treat in this new space that serves important regional flights," said Curtis Robinhold, executive director of the Port of Portland in a news release. “Concourse B will provide a quintessential Pacific Northwest welcome and an experience with food and art that passengers and employees of Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air deserve.”

The area services 10 gate locations for Alaska, and most flights coming through Concourse B are regional, operated by Horizon Air, Alaska’s sister carrier. Concourse B also features more than 500 seats for travelers and more than 300 charging stations. Scouting for food? Good Coffee and Screen Door restaurants will open soon, in spring of 2022.