The road warriors who frequent Delta Air Lines lounges might have noticed some Atlanta clubs haven’t seen as many upgrades as other major cities.
That’s changing, promises Dwight James, Delta’s senior vice president of customer engagement and loyalty.
In Concourse D last spring, Delta opened the first addition to its Atlanta Sky Club lounges since 2016, and its largest in Atlanta yet.
It’s “one of the first of many more things to come” in Atlanta, James said.
Renovations in three lounges between Concourses A and C at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport are complete, with more upgrades in the works; a new Delta One Lounge remains in the planning stages, he said.
“We’ve turned our attention to investing more in Atlanta,” he said.
“If you look at the history of our lounge network, over the last three to five years we probably haven’t invested in Atlanta as much as we have in our broader network,” he said.
And the feedback from Atlanta travelers, he said, has been a demand for “modernization” of its Atlanta lounges.
Credit: Samantha Hurley
Credit: Samantha Hurley
Those frequent flyers travel all over the country and the world, he said. “They have access to a lot of our network and provide that feedback,” he said. “We hear them, and we support that.”
“We’re prioritizing Atlanta as a critical next step for our lounge network.”
Upgrades to Concourse F’s lounge are next, later this year, he said, “and then we have some other plans that we’ll be announcing shortly, as well.”
This is all while the company continues to decide exactly where to put its next planned lounge in Atlanta: its international first class, Delta One product.
Credit: Samantha Hurley
Credit: Samantha Hurley
Atlanta was the site of the airline’s first VIP lounge, known as the “Golden Crown Room,” in 1957. It now has the most Sky Clubs of any airport, with eight.
Recent renovations in Concourses A and C, he said, included expansions of space and seating density, modified buffets and entries, and a repositioning of self-service kiosks to improve hospitality.
The changes will increase seating by about 15% across those lounges, the company confirmed.
“We put real capital there,” he said. “And we’re already seeing satisfaction scores up close to 15-20 points just with that quick change.”
Delta’s lounges broadly have struggled with overcrowding. The airline has spent years tightening access to try to address the issue — as well as investing millions in new lounges across the country.
James said the airline is always looking at how to increase customer satisfaction with the lounges.
“Sometimes it’s not necessarily expanding and sometimes not seat densification. It could be just other light touches; could be menu.”
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Atlanta’s Delta One Lounge
In an interview last year, Claude Roussel, Delta’s vice president of sky clubs and lounge experience, said an Atlanta Delta One Lounge will “absolutely” come to pass in the next few years.
Delta One Lounges feature next level amenities for international first class travelers, including seated dining, spa options and shower suites. They’re available in New York, Los Angeles, Boston and Seattle and are a crucial part of Delta’s ongoing broader premium strategy.
“Delta One will have to be in the right location for international business,” Roussel said of the impending Atlanta location. “And most importantly, it will have to be large enough to welcome our capacity.”
James told the AJC that New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport actually has the highest number of Delta One seats, but Atlanta is by far the airline’s busiest hub.
When asked if there is even space at Hartsfield-Jackson for a new lounge, Roussel told the AJC: “There is always room if you’re willing to pay for it.”
Credit: Kelly Yamanouchi
Credit: Kelly Yamanouchi
Delta CEO Ed Bastian previously told the AJC it was fair to assume that new expansion in Atlanta, including of lounges, would require going vertical.
The new Concourse D lounge sits on the roof of the newly expanded food court.
“We’re actively working on it,” Bastian said last summer of the Atlanta Delta One Lounge location. “We’re talking to the city about it, and looking for where the best location would be.”
A version of this article first appeared in The Concourse, a LinkedIn newsletter that is your essential guide to what’s new at the world’s busiest airport.
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