NEW YORK —The first Delta One Lounge is different from regular Sky Clubs at airports around the country. It’s bigger. It features a Brasserie restaurant with three-course meals and shower suites with valet services.
But it’s also different for what it doesn’t have.
Notably, the Delta One Lounge opened Wednesday at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport doesn’t have many of the people that fill Sky Clubs at other Delta Air Lines hubs.
Sky Clubs allow entry to all Sky Club members and others, including American Express Platinum cardholders and others with premium credit cards that include Sky Club access.
But the only people allowed into the Delta One Lounge at JFK are those who hold Delta One international business class tickets for that day, the airline’s most frequent flyers who hold Delta’s invite-only 360° status and are flying first class that day, and certain business class passengers on Delta’s international partner carriers.
Credit: Kelly Yamanouchi
Credit: Kelly Yamanouchi
It’s a much more exclusive group, and it’s designed that way — in part to alleviate overcrowding at Sky Clubs that causes long lines, frustration and waits to get into crowded clubs during peak times.
“This opening of the Delta One Lounge solves two of our pain points that we’ve had for a while,” said Claude Roussel, Atlanta-based Delta’s vice president of Sky Clubs, who was at the lounge and helping to smooth out snags in service on opening day.
One is to eliminate lines at the Sky Club on Concourse B at JFK — by shifting an estimated 35-40% of the people from that club to the Delta One Lounge, “so we’re creating a much better experience for all of our guests now,” said Roussel.
The second thing it does is create a dedicated lounge for Delta One customers who might pay thousands of dollars more for a ticket than a domestic traveler with Sky Club access.
To be sure, even the Delta One Lounge is expected to be busy during afternoons when many international flights depart.
But Roussel said the aim is to make Delta One customers feel like they’re not in an airport, with a refined feel.
Credit: Kelly Yamanouchi
Credit: Kelly Yamanouchi
Some Delta passengers in Atlanta may gain access to the Delta One Lounge at JFK by booking Delta One international business class and connecting in New York to routes not served nonstop from Atlanta, including Berlin, Geneva, Lisbon, Stockholm, Reykjavik, Prague and London-Gatwick. New York is also a top destination for Atlantans, and Delta 360° members flying first class to and from JFK would also get access.
JFK is an international hub for Delta, and in the New York area, Delta faces stiff competition from JetBlue, American and United for top-spending business travelers and other customers.
American and United already have their own premium lounges that are a step above regular airport clubs, including American’s Flagship Lounges and United’s Polaris Lounges.
Delta originally planned to open its first Delta One Lounge last year, but it ended up taking about three years to build out the location at JFK, Roussel said.
At 39,707 square feet, the Delta One Lounge at JFK’s Terminal 4 is larger than any Sky Club, including the two other clubs at JFK and the spacious clubs on Concourse F and Concourse B at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.
The Delta One Lounge has a total of 505 seats, a bar with Art Deco accents, a market and bakery, relaxation pods with nap chairs, a large terrace with views of the airfield and a beverage station with juices and fruit- and herb-infused waters.
Credit: Kelly Yamanouchi
There’s a spa that offers brief “wellness treatments,” including a 10-minute shoulder, scalp and temple massage; an eye awakening treatment and a hand and arm massage.
Road warriors who need to work in the lounge can use one of eight soundproof booths for calls or borrow a second monitor to connect to their laptop.
Credit: Kelly Yamanouchi
Credit: Kelly Yamanouchi
Those who book one of eight shower suites can use towels, bathrobes and slippers, and can leave their clothes and shoes in a closet for a valet attendant to steam and shine while you shower.
Credit: Kelly Yamanouchi
Credit: Kelly Yamanouchi
While Sky Clubs typically have generous buffets with a variety of food and snacks, the Delta One Lounge does not have a buffet.
Instead, servers at the market and bakery plate your food, and serve drinks to you at your seat with beverage cart service.
Scott Murphy, who stopped in the lounge on its first day on a trip back from Toulouse, France, said he noticed servers were coming to his table “very quickly.”
For travelers in business class, he said, it’s a way to “get that total ambience through the entire trip.”
The 140-seat Brasserie is a full-service restaurant for those who have an hour to sit down for a meal before a flight, with current menu options including corn agnolotti, hamachi crudo, seared salmon and steak frites with Wagyu beef.
Credit: Kelly Yamanouchi
Credit: Kelly Yamanouchi
At JFK, those with Delta One business class tickets check in at a separate lobby area, with warm towels and refreshments. This fall, Delta plans to add a private Transportation Security Administration screening lane for Delta One passengers at the dedicated check-in area.
Inside the Delta One Lounge, food including meals at the restaurant, spa services, shower suites and drinks are complimentary. The exception is premium spirits that cost extra, such as an ounce of Remy Martin Louis XIII cognac for $225, or 22,500 SkyMiles, or a bottle of Opus One wine for $450, or 45,000 miles.
The JFK lounge is the first to open of three planned — Delta is now building Delta One lounges at its hubs in Los Angeles and Boston to open later this year.
There are no current plans to open a Delta One Lounge in Atlanta. After the openings this year, “then we’re going to be exploring other cities,” Roussel said.
 - Shopify New Zealand)