The Delta One Lounge at New York-Kennedy (JFK) — the first of three airport lounges dedicated solely to select business class passengers — is now open.
Let’s take a peek inside, find out who exactly is allowed to access the lounge, and when it’s open.
We also have the food and beverage menus — and the selections look absolutely amazing.
Where is the Delta One Lounge at JFK?
In a press release, Delta tells us the 39,000-square-foot club is located in Terminal 4, between Concourses A and B (adjacent to the main security checkpoint).
By the way, all that real estate makes this club the largest Delta lounge.
When is the Lounge Open?
The hours are 4:30 AM to 11:00 PM daily.
Who Can Get into the Delta One Lounge?
Access is not limited to passengers flying Delta One. Here’s who can get past the bouncer and velvet ropes and get inside the club:
- Same-day departing or arriving Delta One ticketed passengers
- The “arriving” part is especially great news!
- Delta 360o members departing or arriving on a same-day ticket in Delta First Class
- Delta 360s flying Delta One or First Class may bring their immediate family (spouse/domestic partner and children under the age of 21), or up to two (2) companion guests, for an entry fee of $100 per person.
- Same-day departing or connecting flights operated by the following Delta partners in their respective first and business class cabins specified below:
- Air France La Premiere and Business Class (Long-Haul);
- LATAM Premium Business Class
- KLM Business Class
- Korean Air First Class and Prestige Class
- Virgin Atlantic Upper Class
You’ll notice AeroMexico isn’t on the list. That could be due to the pesky Department of Transportation trying to break up Delta and AeroMexico.
Also worth noting: our flashy American Express cards are worthless here. But I can’t wait to hear about someone waving a Platinum Card (a Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card or classic The Platinum Card® from American Express) and throwing a Do-You-Know-Who-I-(Think-I)-Am? tantrum. You know it’s going to happen!
Inside the JFK Delta One Lounge
Delta was pretty tight-lipped about when this lounge would open up (although, some loose-lipped JFK employees spilled the proverbial beans and the information all over the internet). So, we didn’t attend any special previews this time around.
But we do have some background and pictures, courtesy of Delta.
The space above reminds me of one the Boston Chase Sapphire Lounge’s living room set-ups. It looks nice!
But I think the club’s shining gem is the restaurant-style food service.
“The Lounge features a 140-seat Brasserie restaurant delivering a three-course meal service,” Delta said. “Restaurant Associates and Union Square Events (a Danny Meyer concept) have collaborated to elevate the culinary experience in the Delta One Lounge, with dishes such as Hamachi crudo, steak tartare and lasagna Bolognese.”
Here’s is the restaurant-brasserie menu.
You can also visit the Bakery and Market to chose some individual items.
Here is the (extensive!) Bakery and Market menu.
Oh, and there’s a beverage cart that comes to you. (That could get dangerous for some people.) You can also belly up to the bar.
Here is the beverage menu. Not that not all of the top-shelf beverages are free. (But I won’t complain about complimentary Woodford Reserve.)
Delta — and airport clubs in general — have many of us hooked on patios and decks that can be accessible year-round. Don’t worry: the Delta One Lounge at JFK has one, too.
If you want to freshen up after (or before) your flight, there are eight shower suites.
The club features several full-body massage chairs as part of its wellness room.
Like most of the Sky Clubs that Delta opened since around 2019, you’ll also find soundproof booths where you can work in solitude — and make those phone and video calls without disturbing anyone.
“As New York City’s hottest new destination, the Lounge features nods to other noted locations throughout the Big Apple, with thoughtfully curated surprises for New Yorkers and design enthusiasts alike,” it says.
How great would it be if Bill Hader were to read that line as SNL‘s Stefon?
Final Approach
The Delta One Lounge at New York-Kennedy (JFK) — the first of three airport lounges dedicated solely to select business class passengers — is now open.
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I made these comments in some other blogs yesterday:
1) Charging for wine that American offers for FREE in its equivalent Flagship lounges is absurd. Obviously, Delta is paying for the slightly higher food by selling booze. Outside breakfast buffets, alcohol is the most profitable F&B revenue.
2) I think we’ll eventually see Delta make in-flight food on relatively short LHR and BOS flights to Europe an opt-in, as it makes sense (and cents) for Delta to serve Delta One passengers a meal in the lounge and not on the plane. I’m actually not against this on 5 1/2-hour or 6-hour overnight flights.
3) If you take away the ala carte dining, slightly fancier decor and gimmicks like a computer monitor, which I’m sure will never actually be available, the new Delta One lounge really isn’t any nicer than the newest and best Sky Clubs in the system. I’m curious to see if we see Sky Club downgrades once more Delta One lounges come online.
4) I’m disappointed that Delta is allowing business-class passengers from certain Delta partners (but not all partner airlines or fellow Sky Team members) to access the Delta One lounges. If I’m flying Air France or Virgin Atlantic, I should have to use the Air France or Virgin Atlantic lounge, not the Delta One lounge. I also find it curious that business-class passengers on airlines like Kenya Airways, Saudia, Aeromexico, and China Eastern were excluded from accessing the Delta One lounge. I assume SAS business-class passengers will receive access after September, when SAS joins Sky Team and the Delta joint-venture with Air France, KLM, and Virgin Atlantic.
5) If you take away 500 people every day from the main Sky Club at JFK, the Sky Club should be noticeably quieter and easier to access. I wonder if Delta will restore access for Sky Team Elite Plus passengers flying Delta economy.
6) The further codification of 360 benefits is clearly a sign that Delta views 360 as the new diamond
Thanks for the updates! Excited to try it out in July. Can you please update the link for the beverage menu? It’s taking me to the bakery menu. Cheers!
Thanks for the heads-up about the link, Dan. It should be correct now. Please let us know what you think of the lounge after your visit!
Delta has gone from one extreme (letting virtually everyone have access via AMEX to this extreme. I recall some lounges have up to an hour wait for entry. Now unless you are “Gaylord Phillip Smithington, Esq.” status you may no longer have access. Bad management resulted in oversold access and now poor management results in what is described in this article. Meanwhile good luck with Delta Baggage claim when one of your luggage is damage in the Delta Baggage Toss games during luggage handling and you have the audacity to make a claim without the original receipt of luggage purchase.
Meanwhile United Club and Priority Pass Clubs are available with less hassle, yet usually not overcrowded, and those “non-elite upgraded” lounges don’t feel like “college cafeterias” or “college campus” lounge.
Delta…… now becoming United and American airlines best form of advertising! LOL
Can passengers who’ve been upgraded to Delta One, NOT using a GUC/RUC, enter the lounge? Previously, when I would get bumped into D1, my boarding pass turned purple on the Delta App, and my boarding zone was 1. Some time in late summer, I think, this stopped happening. Even if I’ve been upgraded into D1 hours in advance of the flight, I see a light blue (Diamond status, I guess) boarding pass and zone 2. However, when I’ve used an RUC to upgrade and have cleared in advance of check-in, I see a purple boarding pass and zone 1. I thought the change may have something to do with limiting access to ticketed D1 passengers, not upgraded ones. Anyone know for sure?
If you’re in Delta One, you should be able to use the lounge. Try logging out of your Delta app and then logging back in. That might fix the issue. Or just go to the Delta One Lounge, show the check-in agent your seating assignment and ask them to cross-reference your reservation with what they have in their system.
It’s definitely not a Delta app issue. I fly almost every week, and the non-purple (D1), zone 2 boarding pass has been consistent for flights I’m upgraded into D1 for several months. Like I said, perhaps it’s a way to limit entry to folks who are in D1 through purchase or GUC/RUC.