My First Visit as a Passenger Through the New Delta LAX Sky Way

I traveled to Boston last week for Delta Air Lines’ inaugural A321neo flight from BOS to San Francisco. I departed from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), where Delta is in the midst of a major renovation of Terminals 2 and 3. (The airline is also connecting T2, T3, and the Tom Bradley International Terminal aka TBIT.)

Last month, I visited Delta’s impressive new LAX Sky Club a day before it opened to the public and caught a quick glimpse of the developing Sky Way project.

But my recent trip afforded me the opportunity to go through the “experience” as a passenger: check a bag, go through security, and head to my flight.

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New Check-In Area

First things first: the new Delta check-in area is between Terminals 2 and 3.

My first impression inside?

It was jarring — but in a fairly pleasant way. Why?

I don’t know where Delta got the inspiration to go with the wood style we see in Sky Clubs and other airport areas. It doesn’t seem to go with the “Passport Plum,” gray, blue, and red many of us envision when we think “Delta.” So, it seems odd to me.

But I like it!

The new check-in area features plenty of natural light. (I love natural light.)

There are several check-in kiosks and all sorts of agent stations.

I like the Sky Club capacity meter and flight status board on the wall behind the check-in area.

I checked a bag for my flight. (I gambled with the 2,500 SkyMiles Bags-on-Time Guarantee and won in Boston!) I asked the check-in agent what he thought of Delta’s area.

He immediately grinned while his eyes lit up.

“It’s great!” He said. “(There’s) so much space.” One thing missing? He said they need more Delta employees. I take that to mean there’s an employee shortage because, well, many companies need more people to want to work. (So if you want to work for Delta, you might have a chance at LAX.)

From there, I went up to security.

Delta LAX SkyWay CLEAR and TSA

The east end (for reference: toward Terminal 2) is where you’ll find escalators, elevators, and stairs (if you’re into that sort of thing 😉 ) to the security and gate level.

Simply follow the signs.

I used CLEAR and was escorted to the TSA Pre√ line in about two minutes. That’s where things got a little interesting.

The TSA Pre√ line didn’t seem very well organized for CLEAR passengers. It was sort of a free-for-all. There weren’t any problems with passengers getting ornery with each other or anything like that. More than anything, things seemed confusing. Like, where do I go in the line now?

It’s been a month since the Sky Way opened and one would think these issues would’ve been worked out. But perhaps these growing pains still need to mature. (Or maybe it’s just my blonde showing.)

The only truly annoying problems? TSA Pre√ passengers who removed shoes, belts, and jackets — but left cell phones, keys, and wallets in their pants.

Amateurs. 😉

I retrieved my Nomad Lane Bento Bag from the security scanner and was greeted by the wonderful, floor-to-ceiling windows of the Delta Sky Way.

From there, I took a right and enjoyed a visit to the new Delta LAX Sky Club.

Overall, I’m quite impressed by the new Delta LAX Sky Way — and look forward to future trips. What’s even more exciting: Delta hasn’t yet opened any new gates in Terminal 3 (that should happen within the next week or so) nor really renovated Terminal 2 — which really shows the need for work after you through the new Delta additions. So, there are plenty of new additions still on the (Sky) way.