Take a look at Delta's new Sky Club at LAX, featuring an outdoor deck overlooking the Hollywood Hills
Taylor Rains
- Delta Air Lines recently overhauled its loyalty program, including restricting Sky Club lounge access.
- The moves comes as the airline opens several new lounges in its desire to attract more high-dollar customers.
Delta Air Lines angered a lot of its customers last month when it announced sweeping changes to its SkyMiles loyalty program.
Among the changes are new restrictions to its Sky Club lounge, with Delta-branded credit card holders no longer getting unlimited access starting in 2025.
The airline confirmed to Insider that the Sky Club restrictions are being put in place to address continued overcrowding at the lounges, among other factors.
Delta CEO Ed Bastian has since admitted the company "went too far" in its program overhaul, saying modifications will be announced.
In the meantime, Delta is continuing to open more Sky Clubs across its network.
Take a look at the newest one in Los Angeles, which has luxuries like a taco bar and an outdoor deck to attract Delta's more high-dollar customers.
The last few years have seen a slew of new airline lounges popping up across the US.
The post-pandemic boom comes as the demand for travel continues to soar and people seek out more premium products.
The problem is many airport lounges were not originally built for the capacity needed today, and airline loyalty customers were starting to complain about overcrowding.
This reality has forced airlines to overhaul old lounges and design bigger and more efficient ones to better handle the foot traffic.
For example, American Airlines and British Airways opened three co-branded lounges at New York-JFK in November 2022.
The Oneworld partners call the lounges Chelsea, Soho, and Greenwich after each of their respective neighborhoods in New York City and London.
United Airlines has also been unveiling new lounges, including its largest-ever Club Lounge that opened at its Denver International Airport hub last month.
Its fancy Polaris business class lounge opened at its Washington, DC hub in March 2022.
Credit card companies are jumping into the mix, too.
Capital One recently opened a lounge at Dulles International Airport in Washington, DC, while both Chase and American Express have their own branded lounges.
As the competition heats up and travel demand booms, Delta is continuing its own marathon of Sky Club openings.
Delta has opened several brand new Sky Club lounges since the pandemic, including in hubs like New York City, Boston, Chicago, and Salt Lake City.
If its SkyMiles changes are any indication, Delta is trying to offer its most loyal customers a more premium experience — and its new lounges reflect that.
Delta is taking the opportunity to make its lounges even nicer with more luxury amenities expected among deep-pocket customers, like showers, bedrooms, and restaurant-style dining.
The upgrades complement the carrier's fully-private Delta One Suites, as well as its recently introduced A321neo First Class.
The Sky Club at Los Angeles International Airport is particularly luxe.
Delta's new 30,000-square-foot Sky Club at LAX opened in April 2022 as part of the carrier's Sky Way project that connected Terminal 3 to the airport's international terminal — replacing the tedious bus that previously connected the two.
Guests can enter the Sky Club via the main entrance inside Terminal 3, or via the exclusive Delta One lobby.
The entrance from the main terminal is similar to the lounge at LaGuardia, with a check-in counter and beautiful lighting.
Meanwhile, the hidden Delta One lobby offers a private check-in experience for the airline's most elite customers, including its own security screening and a back entrance to the lounge.
Regardless of where you enter, you'll be greeted by various LA-themed artworks, like a giant popcicle sculpture and a collage of skateboards.
There was a pamphlet inside the lounge that had all of the unique art pieces listed, creating almost like a scavenger hunt to find them all — something that might be good way to pass the time or entertain the kids.
Once inside, myriad food options await, like a nacho/taco bar, a buffet, a candy stand, and a gelato machine.
The buffet had options like soup, salad, and sandwiches, while the gelato came in mango or vanilla.
The cream of the crop is the nachos, which includes a choice of meat, lettuce, cheese, guacamole, and all of the other fixings.
Plus, with seating for several hundred people, there is plenty of space to work, relax, or eat.
There are a handful of different sitting areas.
Some are dedicated workspaces, others are cozier areas located away from the crowds. One viewing area had theater-style seating and a giant television streaming mostly sports and news.
Also available is a row of noise-canceling pods that are great for private meetings or phone calls.
American and British have similar seating in their new joint lounges at New York-JFK.
Carriers like United and Singapore Airlines have also incorporated private spaces in their lounges, like sleeping pods and bedrooms.
And power ports are always within arms reach.
A Delta spokesperson told Insider during a tour in September that one of the biggest customers complaints was the lack of charging options.
A handful of spacious showers are available, too.
Because there are only a handful available, Delta has a kiosk available to add your name to the waiting list.
The list will then be displayed on a screen in the customer service area of the lounge so guests know where they are in the queue.
Meanwhile, guests can enjoy free alcohol thanks to the lounge's two bars.
The bars have beer, wine, and liquor. The more premium cocktails are outlined on a menu and can be paid for with money or miles.
For example, a smoked maple old fashioned with Woodford Reserve Bourbon costs $12, or 800 miles.
The outdoor bar makes the lounge particularly special.
The two bars share a wall, except one is inside and the other is the center piece of a giant outdoor deck that overlooks the ramp and the Hollywood Hills.
On a clear day — like on the day of my visit — guests can see as far as the Hollywood Sign.
The deck is also a prefect place to planespot, and you can catch some behemoth birds like the Boeing 747 or Airbus A380 taking off and landing.
Aside from the bar, the deck also sports plenty of seating, as well as random entertainment — like a caricature artist.
Someone was getting their caricature done during Insider's visit in September.
While the improved lounges may please Delta's elite customers, its hard to ignore the rift the new Sky Club restrictions have created.
Many of Delta's Medallion members feel their loyalty to the carrier has been one-sided.
"With Delta's upcoming SkyMiles changes it is clear that loyalty isn't bidirectional," tech executive Randall Hunt wrote on X shortly after the announcement. "Luckily we can vote with our dollars. I'm excited to try some new airlines soon!"
Customers were so vocally angry that other carriers, like Alaska Airlines, offered status match options to Delta loyalty members.
A few weeks after Delta announced its Sky Miles changes, Alaska came out with an enticing status match offer that would allow Sky Miles members to switch over to Alaska at an equivalent elite status, up to its top tier.
The only caveat was to have an open Alaska Airlines credit card by December 31, 2023. JetBlue Airways came out with a similar offer shortly after.
Nevertheless, Delta said it is making modifications to its recent changes — which could bring a better balance to the revamped Sky Miles program.
The new lounges across Delta's network are luxe, and they are spaces customers want to experience if they can find the value in the investment — especially now that it costs even more money to earn status.
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