A New Delta Sky Club at LAX and a “Flying Delta One Lounge”?

A Delta Air Lines executive says a new Sky Club airport lounge is “probably” coming to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). And a flying Delta One Lounge might be coming to a sky near you. (Kind of.)

Two Delta Lounges at LAX?

For several years, Delta operated two — and sometimes three — Sky Clubs at LAX:

• Terminal 2
• Terminal 2 Annex 
• Terminal 3 (prior to demolition)
• Terminal 3 Annex (prior to demolition)

Now, the only Delta lounge at LAX is the large, gorgeous T3 Sky Club with a Sky Deck. (That was part of Delta’s massive Sky Way project at LAX that included a rebuilt T3, Delta One Check-In Lounge, and a bridge to the Tom Bradley International Terminal (TBIT). Delta did a fantastic job on its LAX upgrades.)

The old T2 lounges closed. Overcrowding became a bigger problem at the T3 lounge (as it was at many other clubs).

Delta announced Sky Club access changes that we whined about. But frankly, I haven’t had any problems with overcrowding or reaching my visit rations. (Then again, I’m flying Southwest a lot more and René rarely steps on Delta flights.)

RELATED: What is the Best Card to Get You Into Delta Lounges?

Delta operates up to 151 departures to about four-dozen cities from LAX. They don’t show any signs of slowing down in the nation’s second biggest market. (More on that in a minute.) So, a second lounge might be needed.

Joe Esposito, Delta’s Chief Commercial Officer, told Business Traveller:

The good and bad thing is we built a great product in our lounges, but there are lines at times of the day. It’s a very popular product, (but) we may need more seating. We’re probably going to be opening an expansion Club (in Los Angeles Terminal 2, where Delta recently closed its Sky Club). We’re looking at reopening that for the future, because it’s got more capacity.

But even when that old lounge was open after the T3 club opened, it was rarely the busy the times I was at LAX. Everyone wanted to visit the new club with a huge bar, two buffets, and the Sky Deck!

I’ve heard for years that Delta planned to remodel the T2 lounge. So, maybe those plans might actually come to fruition. No word on when. Again, I’ve heard this for at least six years, along with the We’re-Remodeling-the-MSP-C-Gates-Sky-Club talk that doesn’t seem to be going anywhere.

But Delta doesn’t really need to wow people in Minneapolis too much. It’s the big fish in a little lake.

Los Angeles, though, is a different beast.

Delta’s Moves at LAX

As part of Delta’s rise to dominance in L.A., Mr. Esposito dropped this nugget:

Delta hasn’t flown its own airplanes between Los Angeles and London Heathrow in years. Joint venture partner Virgin Atlantic has been handling that route on Delta’s behalf. But Mr. Esposito confirmed Delta will return to LAX–LHR with its own metal “in a few years,” once new widebodies arrive. And the configuration is the headline:

“We’re looking at 50-60 Delta One seats. The airplane will be about 70% premium.”

Yes. Seventy percent premium. Fifty to sixty Delta One suites on a single airplane. That’s not a widebody — that’s a flying Delta One Lounge with engines.

Plus:

• Hong Kong service is starting soon.
• Shanghai is expanding to five times weekly in October.
• A new lie-flat Delta One product for the A321neo is coming to the transcon LAX–JFK market in about two years.

Final Approach

Forget the drama-filled mayoral race here in Los Angeles. Delta Air Lines is ready to run the city (and would do a much better job than the circus currently in charge). A reopened — and maybe remodeled — Sky Club, and more premium seats on planes seem to be in the works at LAX.