A tweet we received got us thinking, Which Delta Sky Clubs truly need a remodel or other help?
Rene’s Points reader Phil sent us this tweet on Wednesday.
@RenesPoints, first time I’ve seen a @Delta club so overcrowded they close it. This was DTW by gate 66 pic.twitter.com/n3E4fdxA7f
— Phil Turner (@vongole21) July 17, 2019
I, too, have never seen a Sky Club turn people away because of overcrowding. It got me thinking about the Detroit Sky Clubs. They’re old Northwest WorldClubs the mothership inherited during the merger with NWA.
Their age shows in design, style, space, and decor. They’re well past their primes.
Don’t get me wrong: I have a soft spot for WorldClubs. My dad brought me into the MSP clubs when I was young. They were my introduction to airport lounges and will always have a place in my club nerd heart.
But there are a few lounges Delta could improve (I know, I know, it’s such a first-world problem! 🙂 ).
The new Austin Sky Club, Seattle location, or San Francisco’s Sky Club all feel new and modern. (Probably because, you know, they are.) Atlanta recently enclosed their Sky Deck on the F concourse and JFK is remodeling their Sky Club.
But stepping into the old Northwest WorldClubs — or other lounges Delta took over — sometimes feel like a time warp.
Personally, I’m delighted LAX is getting a new Sky Club (with a SkyDeck!). One of the current LAX Sky Clubs is nice. The other: not quite as snazzy (which is interesting because it seemed fun when it was a Virgin America Loft a few years ago). And it gets crowded, so Delta opened a much smaller location on the same level.
The Minneapolis C concourse Sky Club is getting a refresh (next year, I believe). And MSP is also getting a new Sky Club on the G concourse.
The food options at the C concourse location aren’t impressive. It’s soup, salad, and a cookie. But you can practically have a full meal at the F/G location. The Dallas Sky Club’s food selection is equally boring. (Thankfully, the DFW Centurion Lounge is a train ride away.)
After Delta named Cincinnatti a “focus city,” maybe they’ll invest some more time and money in the CVG Sky Club.
Many of us use premium American Express cards for Sky Club access: Delta Reserve cards (personal — learn more or business — learn more) or the personal American Express Platinum card (learn more) or business flavor (learn more). It’s a great perk with membership. And as far as I’m concerned, even a meh lounge is better than sitting in a gate area’s vinyl chairs.
Which Sky Clubs Do You Like? Which Ones Need Upgrades?
That being said, tell us: which Delta Sky Clubs do you think need a touch-up? Or do you have a favorite? Share your ideas in the Comment section below!
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ATL Sky Club in Concourse D near gate D12 only has one unisex bathroom.
I don’t want them messing with CVG at all. The furniture is nice, and there’s plenty of space.
They often have hot dishes like BBQ and real breakfast items as well. It’s a solid, underrated club.
Good news: Changes to Delta’s BOS Sky Club in the satellite concourse, Gates 13-22, will be complete within the next two weeks. The club will have shower facilities. And BOS now has Clear. Thank you Delta!
ATL Terminal D. It’s small, crowded, and like all clubs, the food is not good.
JFK C Concourse. They need to change the food they have for everyone. One of the Hot unknown meats that they have for lunch and dinner is nasty, Plus they don’t have that much there in terms of food. I wish they had more options.
Do you have any insight into the new DTW SkyClub location? There is a sign announcing a new club by A46.
@Steve Tims: Nothing yet but we’re digging!
D in ATL clearly is the worse of the lot. I must have walked in and turned right back out a dozen times over the last two years. However, I was in two this week and walked right back out as the bathroom lines were longer than the public ones and there were no seats. This was in Salt Lake City this week. They are clearly selling as many as they can despite the crowd sizes.
I have to agree with William on the CVG club. I more often fly in/out of Dayton, but I enjoy the unique options at CVG when I am there. Even though it is a small selection, they have different food than the other clubs. Plus they have an ice cream cooler with assorted bars and cones! Wish all the clubs had this.
Don’t touch CVG!
In your eyes, what’s wrong with it?
To me, it’s the best of them all
Do not mess with the ice cream at CVG
The ORD club needs more space now that they have passed their health department inspections
@Brian: 100% agree with you about the ice cream! My thought is that if Delta is making CVG a focus city, maybe they’ll invest more time and money the location.
@Brian – Keep in mind Delta is moving to T5 at ORD over the next few years. Will be fun to see what they build or do at T5.
MSY will be getting a new SC once the new terminal opens later this year. The existing one is fine, but a little small.
The MCO Sky Club could use some new furniture. They had signs up last year that they were going to due a full renovation of new bathrooms, carpet, paint, furniture, etc, but ended up forgetting to replace the furniture. Some of the current furniture in the club has been in there since I’ve started flying DL on a regular basis 10+ years ago. It’s also not very bright in the Club when it’s dark outside, so some better lighting in the club could be appreciated as well.
The CLT club needs …oh there is no CLT club. I like the old NWA clubs.
Fireplaces give a homey feel, and newspapers that aren’t all gone by 09:00.
PDX, SLC (fortunately this is happening), T2 JFK…
@Gary – Do you think the new ORD T5 Sky Club will be a statement club or meh?
They closed the one at ORD a couple of years ago, and you couldn’t even leave and come back in.
As for updating them, my main gripe is that clearly the fee includes food but because of my kosher diet, I can hardly eat anything. Obviously because of the complexity of preparing kosher food, it would not be possible for them to offer kosher food to the standard of the food that is provided, but they could do what Virgin does in their Clubhouses in JFK and London, which is to have a good selection of frozen kosher meals that they can heat on demand. I believe Delta has started doing this again at JFK but it needs to be at every Skyclub, not just the one that has the biggest population of kosher consumers, since travel has a destination, not just an origin.