Delta has just added access restrictions to its newest premium lounge. I can’t say I’m surprised, though it is a bit disappointing…
Continue reading: Delta One Lounge Boston Adds Access Restrictions
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
The new lounges look nice but it truly is mind boggling how unable Delta is to forecast demand. AA and United have had these clubs for about a decade and still allow their OneWorld or Star partners access.
It boggles the mind why Delta would ever grant access to AF/KL in the first place just to revoke it a few short weeks/months later.
Is their internal usage forecasting really that bad?
Expanding on my comment from the previous article, but this seems to be a combination of overly draconian lounge policies from Delta and poor planning/execution.
Quite frankly, this blended Delta One lounge and SkyClub concept doesn’t seem to be that great if they’re already hitting capacity limits. It’ll be years before Delta can expand their lounge footprint again in BOS, if at all. (I’ve also read that the food isn’t anything special tbh)
The other core issue is that Delta functionally markets AF/KLM flights as their own, given the joint venture. This seemingly defeats the whole purpose of “metal neutral” and reciprocal benefits, when Delta is actively blocking AF/KLM passengers, a large chunk who have probably purchased their tickets off of the Delta website with a Delta flight number. Even if not from a cost perspective, passengers are going to be very confused when their AF/KLM business class flight, ticketed by Delta doesn’t get them into the Delta One lounge.
Delta already has the world’s most bizarre lounge access policy for their elites and now they’re adding to the complication for business class passengers.
Sometimes people (and airlines) may forget that when you make lounges better, you increase usage. Before, maybe a certain percentage of Delta One customers at BOS didn't visit any of the lounges. With the Delta One lounge, I am sure many more will go. That also eases up space for additional customers at the regular SkyClub.
At the end of the day, Delta's clubs are designed to get people to book Delta metal and to acquire/spend on Delta cards, so other alliance/JV partners will have to be secondary...
Delta’s JV is supposed to make these partners metal neutral. Delta earns the same revenue as a Delta One flight vs an AF/KLM marketed flight.
I suspect the more likely factor is that they have large equity stakes in Virgin Atlantic and to a lesser extent LATAM and Korean Air, although those two don’t get access on a practical level, due to the extremely narrow operating hours anyways.
Yet another reason to appreciate the One World alliance. Delta goes out of its way to undermine SkyTeam in every way it can
Skyteam is trash. SAS managed to be in a semi-bad position in *A and now in an even crappier position in Skyteam.
Thank god for that LH status match
@ Anthony -- "At the end of the day, Delta's clubs are designed to get people to book Delta metal and to acquire/spend on Delta cards, so other alliance/JV partners will have to be secondary..."
It's kind of ironic that:
-- Delta SkyMiles SkyTeam Elite Plus members only get Sky Club access when traveling in international economy when on a partner airline, and not Delta
-- SkyTeam Elite Plus members with other airlines get Sky Club access when traveling internationally in Delta economy, while Delta SkyMiles Elite Plus members don't
Kind of goes against that point, no?
In a way it is ironic, but not really - you have to look at the second part of my statement, which involves the credit card. Delta conditions its fliers to hold a Delta Reserve (or Amex Platinum). If you are holding a credit card and flying Delta, you don't need to worry about alliance partners, what status you are, etc - you get access to a SkyClub while holding the card, point blank. With Delta One, if you are flying Delta metal in Delta One, you get in. When you look at it that way, it becomes more simple. Admittedly the card visit limits next year complicate things a bit.
Delta don't care about their own pax, why would they give a hoot about those from SkyTeam partners.
I surmise the problem is that Delta is SUPER late to the premium lounge party. And since airport space is finite, they painted themselves into a corner by not snapping up space sooner so now the only space left must come from somebody vacating an adjacent space. In all, Delta's lounge planning situation is pretty abysmal even if the lounges themselves are nice - albeit crowded. Laughably abysmal. I'll still use the heck out of the D1 lounges when I have access, but let's not put lipstick on Delta's lounge system pig. Maybe they can shill some more CC's for D1 Lounge access...
If AF passengers can get into the AF lounge, why would they care about not getting into the D1 lounge? It's not like DL is telling them to sit at the gate.
@ NSS -- They would care because the Delta One Lounge is way better. It's one thing if Delta said in the first place that these lounges were just for Delta passengers, but that's not how they were marketed. They were also supposed to be for joint venture passengers.
I'll bet this is "temporary". IMO, the ultimate end game is when DL finally does unbundle business class fares, only the most expensive D1 fares will come with D1 lounge access, while other D1 fares will allow regular SkyClub access or no lounge access. Once that happens, the crowding issue will most likely decrease and therefore allow the AF/KL passengers.
thank you.
Virgin Atlantic does not have its own lounge in Boston but does in other cities.
As much as people like to think that JVs mean you share everything, there are undoubtedly charges that take place behind the scenes for functions that each airline within the JV provides to other airlines.
It is entirely possible that AF/KL has said they do not want to pay the access fees that DL is asking.
And it is also possible that DL knows that AF/KL has a higher rate of loyalty program redemption business class tickets than DL has and so DL's intent is to prioritize its D1 lounges for customers that are using paid business class tickets or are using SkyMiles business class redemption tickets.
Every US airline invests to make money for its stockholders; that is why they exist.
DL clearly makes more money than AA and UA do because DL doesn't do what they both do.
More likely scenario is the Delta is prioritizing its investments, aka the 49% stake in VS. Notice how KE/LATAM, where Delta also has large equity stakes, are unaffected?
Delta has proven itself to be very punitive with lounge access policies already for the sake of cost cutting, this really just seems like yet another way to do that.
It’s a bad customer experience for someone to purchase a JV flight with a Delta flight number only to be turned away at the Delta One lounge
Yep, unsurprising. DL just doesn't seem to be able to manage its lounge situation the way that UA and AA have successfully done.
Yep, exactly what I said, poor planning/execution, this hybrid Delta One lounge/SkyClub model just simply isn’t very good, with how much it cuts into each other’s footprints. UA Polaris and AA Flagship lounges are all vastly larger, all 10k+, often closer to the 15k to 20k marks.
It’s really just cost cutting at the end of the day. For the most part, a Delta One lounge is a cost center, and hard to monetize in a traditional sense, but clearly it’s become a necessity to avoid attrition to other airlines and for Delta to grow.
BOS and probably SEA are the most egregious in terms of size, but LAX really isn’t that large either and lacks a lot of basics like dedicated shower suites.
VS LHR Clubhouse is quite restrictive too for SkyTeam members;
Passengers travelling in the following cabins
Upper Class on Virgin Atlantic + guest traveling with Virgin Atlantic or Delta
Delta One on Delta
Clase Premier on Aeroméxico
Passengers with the following loyalty status;
Flying Club Gold Card members + a guest traveling with Virgin Atlantic, Delta or Aeroméxico
Delta SkyMiles Diamond and Platinum Medallions + a guest traveling in premium on Virgin Atlantic or Delta premium
Flying Blue Platinum members + a guest traveling in premium on Virgin Atlantic or Delta premium
You weak argument might have some credence if this standard was applied universally across the D1 lounges. It is not.
Therefore the only explanation is the lounge is too small for the amount of traffic eligible in BOS. Who's fault is that?
Its not UA and AA
Hey, the world’s most premium airline is just getting more exclusive, and thus, even more premium!!
It is hard to believe that a site that makes its core focus hawking credit card and mileage programs doesn't grasp that there are different benefits from different loyalty programs and cards for good reason.
DL got average fares on a global basis comparable to UA long before DL opened its first D1 basis and DL's average fare premium on international routes is growing.
They aren't opening D1 lounges in order to provide a service that is comparable to what AA and UA need to provide to get the average fares they get for business class.
DL clearly intends to grow its premium revenue, they have said that is the driver behind the D1 lounges, and they have the ability to rewrite the rules for the benefits of each amenity and for the alliance.
As for the airport-specific aspect of this, the lounge situation is unique at each airport.
It is doubtful that KE or LA was willing to pay for D1 lounge operations at the time their flights operated. The LA flight will be a DL flight so the D1 lounge apparently will not be available for that flight during the time DL operates it.
There is no such thing as uniformity in everything alliance related
And I also don't think DL decided this on a whim but that AF and KL as well as KE and LA were well aware of what DL was thinking long before the D1 lounge was open.
As with everything in the free market, if DL is making a mistake, it will become clear and they will change course.
And, as noted below, this all might be part of unbundling business class which other SkyTeam carriers do and the size of the D1 lounges are related to how many actual paying customers on DL or loyalty redemptions that DL considers worth gaining access.
Yet another example of why SkyTeam is by far the worst of the three alliances.
If delta allowed passengers with a delta marketed ticket in the lounge I wouldn’t feel strongly one way or another, but given many people don’t even pay attention to whether a flight is operated by delta or a partner means this is going to be awful for the check in agents to deal with.
The lounge literally just opened 7 days ago it's not like it's been open for years and Delta made this change. Air France has its own lounge that their passengers and KLM have been using for years and can continue to use. It's not like there is a ton of unused open space in terminal E for Delta to place a 10,000 square foot lounge, they used the space that was available to them. And if Delta had instead of opening a brand new SkyClub in 2023 in Terminal E instead dedicated that entire 21,000 square foot space to Delta One Lounge you would complaining over the lack of a proper size SkyClub in E. They used the space the terminal had available and Air France didn't offer to give up their lounge space so Delta could have more space for Delta One Lounge. With that in mind there is nothing wrong with Delta telling their JV partners AF/KL your passengers have to continue using your lounge. You're making a big deal out of nothing especially seeing Virgin which doesn't have a lounge will still be allowed to use the Delta One lounge.
How much more evidence do some of you require that this is the most actively evil airline in the world? I will never fly it again, and, thank Dog, I don't have to.
If this is your gripe and it it a legitimate point you just made with Delta then why not make this the focal point of the article what you just posted above, instead of making a big deal about two airlines not having access then their own lounge is literally right there in the same terminal. The reason this article exists is because Delta One Lounge at BOS is better than the Air France lounge which has fallen into disrepair and is in need of a major renovation.
This isn't a Skyteam lounge. It's the same silly concept as AC turning away those flying on award tickets from its YYZ lounge or UA refusing *G pax and full fare business class Avianca ticket holders, entry to its better lounges. It's not a customer friendly policy, but it's got nothing to do with alliance rules.
Ironically, this article doesn’t apply to anyone flying delta… 😉
So while I doubt you plan to fly delta anytime soon, this article shouldn’t deter you
The whole doesn’t have to be so black and white. It’s a company, not an angel fund.
Skyteam is a crap progam. Theres no consistency and they just change things as they go along.
“ It is hard to believe that a site that makes its core focus hawking credit card and mileage programs”
Feel free to leave. You would be doing literally everyone a favor. praying hands
Typical Delta under Ed.
Talk the talk but walk the cheap.
We have all these "premium" offering just not enough to offer everyone one who qualifies.
Symbiotic parasite.
Tim can't leave Ben's generosity.
Ben makes less money kicking out Tim.
As long as Tim doesn't piss off Ben too much his fluff and ego will be tolerated.
We play our part of keeping Ben happy by feeding Tim and a new card application every now and then.
So even if Tim is at the bottom of the food chain as we all know. He's still easy bait.
Doesn't solve the problem.
Moving a customer from an overcrowded lounge to another overcrowded one doesn't solve the crowd issue.
It just makes NIMBY people happy.
How did DL not see this coming? Less than two weeks after opening they’re adding restrictions?
Couldn’t they look at how many seats the club has and compare that to the number of passengers who would likely be visiting?
UA is expanding the size of Polaris lounges in EWR and ORD. That’s how you deal with success. You build clubs that are big enough in the first place, and then expand when necessary.
You don’t limit the number of people who have access, as Delta has done with their SkyClubs and continues to do with these lounges.
“The change is disappointing but not surprising”
Sounds like it was surprising to DL, implementing it less than two weeks after club opened.
"Delta SkyMiles SkyTeam Elite Plus members only get Sky Club access when traveling in international economy when on a partner airline, and not Delta"
Not always, depending on the dragon.
DL DM flying on partner cannot access Sky Club but can access other SkyTeam lounges flying international economy.
I just hope they don't pull VS access at LAX once the new VS lounge opens.
But we shall see.
Ben is a big enough boy to allow people with all kinds of opinions comment on his articles.
The only people that drive Ben's success are those that can't refrain from commenting on me - regardless of what I have to say.
None of which changes that DL is far from alone in having different rules for different partners - as others have noted but don't seem to get the replies that I do for saying the same thing.
No, it's about preserving the most comfortable spaces and best amenities for the loyal pax who spend big bucks, rather than those who have spent their money elsewhere. The point of alliances is fading these days, what with lounge entry restrictions, and the ever-tightening vice around partner airline redemptions. They may as well not bother, and I can foresee a time where airline groups all return to their individual silos where the only thing most of them share is an interline agreement.
Hello. I don't view the access restriction to be unfair. If the AF lounge is that crummy, that's on AF to improve and not for them to be reliant on DL to provide a fix for their poor lounge product. Given how well DL monetizes everything, perhaps I might wonder DL doesn't just charge AF/KL a high fee for their select highest J fare paxs to enter... then again, that would be money that AF/KL should be investing into their lounge product.
It's not just Delta One lounges. Two nights ago in Detroit, Delta turned away Air France business-class passengers an hour before boarding time, claiming the two primary lounges on the A concourse were "at capacity." When you looked upstairs from the concourse, neither was 100% full.
Well, I haven't looked at Boston recently, but elsewhere it does seem that AF/KL premium classes sell out well before Delta does. Maybe it's just DL needs their fancy lounge to make up for a mediocre on-board experience? And is it really better than the AF Salon in Paris? (Okay, it definitely beats the KL crown lounge)
At ORD, they were exceedingly smart. They built the Polaris lounge so that it connected "backstage" with the then United Club in Concourse C. They then closed the Concourse C United Club and built the new one that's received raves. Polaris will "take over" the space the old Club used to expand. Nice job.
Delta is clearly half-assing their premium lounge strategy. They're swiftly losing my loyalty.
I agree. I've flown AF codeshare booked through Delta multiple times and they have no problem letting me use their business class lounge at CDG. Not the best look, giving the other side of the team a bad time.
AF should ban DL pax from their lounges in CDG, as well as KL in AMS.
DL can open their own D1 lounges if they want.
AF should ban DL pax from their lounges in CDG, as well as KL in AMS.
DL can open their own D1 lounges if they want.
Then maybe Delta should charge the passenger less when they sell a DL-coded AF/KL-operated flight on their site. The 3 of them are all in a JV and selling tickets on each other's metal (and by extension, selling each other's product). Not every passenger pays attention to flight operator and certainly the detailed rules of which operator can have access to which lounge. This is just poor planning on DL's part to have inconsistent lounge access.
I love the biz class lounge concept as the food is typical superb. Qatar and Oman Airlines offerings are incredible. It's too bad they don't let in all domestic FC pax into the DL One lounges. The CapitalOne lounges trump the airline-run domestic clubs. The only issue I've ran into lately are the arrogant <30 clowns who put their bare feet on the tables and those who patrol the food areas with "emotion pets". That is disgusting. I don't recall ever seen dogs and cats at the Oman or Quatari club lounges.
For TATL DL/AF/KL/VS are metal neutral JV. This means everything is split revenue and cost wise between the carriers. A business choice by one is a choice by all.
This is why AF/KL don't charge seat selection fees in Business on TATL to/from US/CANADA.
Dunno, flying DL One today and discovered that the DL One lounge at BOS was not a lounge at all - it's a restaurant. I wanted a place to hang out and relax and ended up in a chair outside the lounge that was only marginally better than what they have downstairs in the terminal.
Who wants to have a sit-down meal in the middle of the afternoon? Travelers need a relaxing place to wait for a flight.
I think Delta just has no idea what a business traveler expects; it is the leisure travelers who like free food, the professionals want respite and relaxation.
If it's a delta marketed ticket and the passenger bought the ticket on Delta website and paid Delta, they should get the D1 lounge access imho.