Delta Airlines is often lauded for running a very smooth operation across the board. And I’m not exaggerating it when I say that because apparently their flights have the least amount of turbulence of any major US airline.
I haven’t experienced anything special while flying Delta so far (in fact my recent flight from DTW to AMS had some ridiculously impersonal service). Anyway there is one area where Delta is seemingly lagging behind the rest in and that is airline lounges. While United has introduced the Polaris Lounge and American has opened up Flagship Lounges, Delta really hasn’t amped up its lounge game.
This is not to mention that their outstation lounges aren’t exactly state of the art. I recently visited the DFW Delta lounge, and in terms of design and space it is definitely inferior to what United has to offer at the airport. The staff is no doubt friendly and the service pretty good, but there isn’t much making them better in terms of offerings.
For example, the seating areas are the same old crowded ones with a rather impersonal arrangement of seating.
The food offerings are your same old soup and salad sort of stuff. And dessert mainly consists of just cookies.
It’s not that this bothers me in the least bit (I don’t usually care for lounge food), but I haven’t seen much more from Delta at even their largest hubs in Detroit or Atlanta. It’s usually the same stuff with the addition of some more alcoholic beverages. Both United and AA on the other hand offer much better options in their major hubs (especially United). The only real incentive for visiting any of their lounges is to use Wi-Fi and perhaps find a quiet workspace if and when it is available.
It’s usually the same stuff with the addition of some more alcoholic beverages. The only real incentive for visiting any of their lounges is to use Wi-Fi and perhaps find a quiet workspace if and when it is available.
One thing I am sort of glad about is that Delta has restricted access to AMEX Platinum Card members to just the cardholder. Imagine if these cardholders were allowed to bring guests especially at the more crowded Atlanta and Detroit lounges (where there are no Centurion Lounges).
Anyway Delta might offer some charming outdoor lounge space in LAX and JFK, but they certainly haven’t pushed the envelope the way UA has done with Polaris and AA has with its Flagship Lounges. Maybe they’ll come up with something moving forward……
I haven’t visited the SkyClubs in JFK and LAX in a while, but I do believe Delta has a long ways to go before catching up with its two counterparts in this department. I was certainly surprised to find that this case after comparing the DFW and Detroit SkyClubs recently.
