At the beginning of the year, Delta announced that they'd be updating their SkyClub access policy, whereby standard memberships would no longer allow complimentary guesting privileges. Of course they did that due to member feedback, as a result of overcrowding. 😉 A couple of weeks later Delta announced that they would be testing enhanced SkyClub…
Continue reading: Delta Sky Club Adding New Snack Menu
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Excuse my ignorance but are those going to be free or will they charge for these items?
If it is indeed free it is much better than what UA Clubs are offering.
Jeff Robertson, former head of SkyMiles, is now heading the SkyClub group. I am guessing what they are calling "healthy" is in line with conventional thinking and nutrition guidelines passed down by the FDA.
Recent research shows excess carbohydrates and genetically modified foods are thought to be more and more "unhealthy". Sadly that is what 75% of these "enhanced" SkyClub items are.
Once we see fresh vegetables, varied proteins, and good fats (think cheeses, sliced meats, etc.) then we can call it "healthy"!
Most of the lunch/dinner stuff is the same as what they've offered for a while, other than the soup and the last couple of salads which are new. But the breakfast does look like a real enhancement to status quo. And it's certainly a lot more than you get from AA or UA clubs right now.
From the menu, they seem to have the fresh vegetables covered pretty well for an airline club (carrots, celery, broccoli, red peppers, and spring mix if you want to create a garden salad). But, regardless, they only use "healthy" to describe the breakfast selections, which includes items meeting that standard (oatmeal, hard boiled eggs, yogurt, etc.).
Regardless, much better than the free options from the Admirals Club or United Club.
They were testing actual sandwiches for the lunch and dinner portion as well as a pancake machine for breakfast at the Skyclubs I visited during the test, SEA and MSP. I was hoping they would have continued those. Never saw the shoe shines or chair massage.
@Rami: Nothing is free when it involves Delta. They may not bring you a bill when you are in the lounge eating but somehow you will be paying for that. They will either add a fee to your ticket price or they will devalue your miles but never ever they will give something for free. You may not even feel it but you are paying for. Delta is the most evil of all airlines so never underestimate them.
@Santastico: Because other for-profit corporations are in the habit of giving you things that you don't somehow pay for?
This pales compared to the Amex Centurion clubs, which have food you WANT to eat and premium drinks like Don Julio tequila and Bushmills 12-year old.
@bgrieff @bob: Find any travel blogger other than Delta Miles that likes Delta and recommends their FF program. Talking about lounges, see what you have to pay to access a Delta lounge vs a AA lounge. With the AA Citi Executive card I can get myself, wife and two kids in AA lounges for $450/year. To access Delta lounge I need to pay $695 for me, wife and kid + $29 per visit for my other kid. Do the math and see if all this food provided by Delta is "free".
@Santastico: I made the jump from Delta over to American and its not that rosy.
Are their miles more valuable? Yes.... but it ends there. The in-flight experience in my opinion is garbage compared to Delta. IT? Crap. Connectivity between work groups? Crap.
Im not saying Deltamatic is the end-all, but a small example of Delta being able to tell me where my bag is from my iphone goes a long way for me. Upgraded SkyClub experience does too.
Long story short... I will now happily pay the premium of devalued miles or expend the additional work to find "low" tickets in order to fly Delta for these small perks.
Visited Delta's SkyClub in SEA on a way back from FTU and thought it was miles better than UA or US clubs (and still free with Amex Plat) but lack of food options (early afternoon) was noticeable. Loved Amex's lounge in DFW - they need to hurry up and build them in more places (like Houston 😉 )!
P.S. I also think Delta may be trying to seduce Seattle residents with good planes, lol. Nice plane on SEA-SLC route but awful old bird on SLC-IAH.