On Tuesday, February 28, 2023, Delta will be opening a Sky Club at Kansas City Airport (MCI), making it the first lounge to open in the newly transformed airport.
In this post:
Basics of the new Delta Sky Club Kansas City
The new Delta Sky Club Kansas City is roughly 11,200 square feet, with a capacity for nearly 200 guests, and a variety of seating options to accommodate a wide variety of travelers. The new lounge includes a bar, buffet, and two all-weather Sky Decks with views of the airfield, which is always an awesome feature. The bathrooms in the lounge are also stocked with Grown Alchemist products.
The lounge is located in the center of the new terminal, and will be open daily from 4:15AM until 6:30PM. Below are some pictures that Delta has provided of the new lounge.
While it’s always great to see more lounge capacity, it’s especially cool to see a lounge open at a new airport that otherwise lacks lounges. This is Delta’s first Sky Club at a new airport in several years (as opposed to adding Sky Clubs to airports that already have them).
See this post for Delta Sky Club access policies. In addition to being open to select premium passengers and members, Sky Clubs can also be accessed with The Platinum Card® from American Express (review) and The Business Platinum Card® from American Express (review).
Kansas City Airport’s new terminal
The new Delta Sky Club is made possible thanks to Kansas City Airport’s transformation. The airport has undergone a $1.5 billion makeover, whereby all airport operations have been consolidated in a new 39-gate terminal.
The new terminal features a revamped, fully accessible experience from curb to gate, a new lobby, a new and enlarged security checkpoint, local concessions, gates with updated technology, and more.
Bottom line
The Delta Sky Club Kansas City will be opening shortly, coinciding with the opening of the new terminal at Kansas City Airport. It’s exciting to see Kansas City Airport being totally transformed, and this new lounge looks fantastic.
Anyone plan on checking out the Delta Sky Club Kansas City soon?
The Delta lounge in Kansas City could be in an indication Delta will use the airport for connections. Not every connection can go through Atlanta. I flew out of Tulsa endlessly via Delta and flew to Atlanta endlessly. I used to fly to and from St. Louis Saturdays via Atlanta and earn 5000 miles each trip. I earned Platinum status for $2500 or so and bought miles for 1 cents via endless promotions. I miss...
The Delta lounge in Kansas City could be in an indication Delta will use the airport for connections. Not every connection can go through Atlanta. I flew out of Tulsa endlessly via Delta and flew to Atlanta endlessly. I used to fly to and from St. Louis Saturdays via Atlanta and earn 5000 miles each trip. I earned Platinum status for $2500 or so and bought miles for 1 cents via endless promotions. I miss the Delta of 10 years ago...
Regardless, airlines didn't use Kansas City for connections due to the layout of the old terminals.
What a waste!!! Kansas City may have a new terminal but who exactly flies there? You either live there or you go there for business and nothing else. That’s not a huge place for Delta and not a place people will fly to connect. Sometimes Delta’s strategy makes me scratch my head.
According to the latest DOT data, MCI is the 43rd busiest airport in the US by passengers boarded.
WN has a 45% share while DL has a 14% share as the 2nd largest carrier there.
Where you fly is immaterial.
Delta is the ONLY airline that chose to put a lounge at MCI.
It doesn't matter if you can't figure out why.
they did it because of an inferior network vs the other big 3 US airlines at MCI. It's pretty easy to understand why Delta did it if you are the least bit objective.
you are desperate to do all you can to find something fault with a move that is about revenue that Delta clearly sees and no one else does.
Sad, you are. Really.
Delta generated more total revenue of any airline in the world in 2022 even though AA and UA both flew more seat miles.
As hard as it is hard for you to admit, Delta knows what it is doing.
...
you are desperate to do all you can to find something fault with a move that is about revenue that Delta clearly sees and no one else does.
Sad, you are. Really.
Delta generated more total revenue of any airline in the world in 2022 even though AA and UA both flew more seat miles.
As hard as it is hard for you to admit, Delta knows what it is doing.
And the more you make feel an urge to trash something Delta does, the more I will come up with one verifiable factoid after another to show where Delta exceeds.
You clearly aren't real smart, Max.
Walk away.
Lol.
You need a life. Because you clearly know nothing about the interplay between credit card deals, revenue and individual station profitability.
But thanks for interrupting your non existent Saturday plans
Did your couch get too comfy?
Walk away, Timmy. Your ex employer called and they said they’re laughing at you (delta…)
the only one that is getting laughed at is you who has some deep-seated need to crap on other people's parties instead of simply accepting that you big on the wrong horse.
Your attempts at arguing are feeble.
Delta opened a Sky Club in Kansas City, the only airline that was interested in doing so.
Delta is the 2nd largest airline at MCI.
MCI is about as close to the middle of...
the only one that is getting laughed at is you who has some deep-seated need to crap on other people's parties instead of simply accepting that you big on the wrong horse.
Your attempts at arguing are feeble.
Delta opened a Sky Club in Kansas City, the only airline that was interested in doing so.
Delta is the 2nd largest airline at MCI.
MCI is about as close to the middle of the country; it is a spoke as much as any city could be.
Accept the reality and get rid of your incessant need to argue non-sense that changes nothing
Timmy,
It’s a Saturday. Go find some friends. You clearly know nothing about hubs and how they relate to spokes near them. It’s cute but also why your favorite carrier doesn’t want you working for them.
Per this
“ has some deep-seated need to crap on other people's parties instead of simply accepting that you big on the wrong horse.”
Find your own party where people check their grammar before posting. Don’t...
Timmy,
It’s a Saturday. Go find some friends. You clearly know nothing about hubs and how they relate to spokes near them. It’s cute but also why your favorite carrier doesn’t want you working for them.
Per this
“ has some deep-seated need to crap on other people's parties instead of simply accepting that you big on the wrong horse.”
Find your own party where people check their grammar before posting. Don’t you now write for a living now that delta fired you?
Beyond that, there’s nothing personal. Just honest fact. Delta has the worst o&d hub connections from MCI and provides the least connectivity from MCI vs the US3.
I get that delta has to be #1 in your mind from Miami to MCI to chicago to denver despite reality, but accept facts. sometimes. It’s ok to be wrong ;)
Delta is not the best choice for all customers despite being an amazing choice for many.
Your rants and lack of objectivity make you irrelevant and a laughing stock.
I have plans past my couch tonight. Enjoy your replies, timmy. They’re all yours
Maybe Patrick Mahomes, barbecue, and the upcoming World Cup are drawing more tourists?
I have a few clients there.
The new airport has a flight sim...for passengers!! Complete with a fake jet bridge, economy seats and overhead bins!! So cool!
This is part of Delta's clear strategy of putting more amenities in airports where it is not the largest carrier - Southwest is - but where they want to be able to offer a more premium experience.
In many medium sized airports like MCI, Delta and American are similarly sized and AA doesn't have as many lounges as DL does.
DL opened a greatly expanded Sky Club in Nashville - 5X or more...
This is part of Delta's clear strategy of putting more amenities in airports where it is not the largest carrier - Southwest is - but where they want to be able to offer a more premium experience.
In many medium sized airports like MCI, Delta and American are similarly sized and AA doesn't have as many lounges as DL does.
DL opened a greatly expanded Sky Club in Nashville - 5X or more larger than the previous one - and the new lounge is full but not overflowing at peak flight times.
AUS is similar. Delta has the best lounge at the airport - but also uses it for its international partners.
Delta just opened a very large Sky Club at ORD at 20k plus square feet- the only non-hub SC w/ showers - because DL clearly intends to use its SC as the Skyteam and JV partner lounge.
Keep in mind that Delta and Amex are inextricably linked so Amex could be looking to increase its penetration in some of these markets as well.
Not sure what other clubs DL has in the pipeline but moving into more and more "neutral" cities will help Delta in its quest to gain more premium passengers.
"This is part of Delta's clear strategy of putting more amenities in airports where it is not the largest carrier"
it's more about Delta trying to find any kind of advantage in a place where they have an inferior network: MCI, AUS, and BNA are all great examples where any normal traveler would choose UA or AA as a network carrier but Delta is trying to make inroads.
MCI: ORD, DEN, and DFW are...
"This is part of Delta's clear strategy of putting more amenities in airports where it is not the largest carrier"
it's more about Delta trying to find any kind of advantage in a place where they have an inferior network: MCI, AUS, and BNA are all great examples where any normal traveler would choose UA or AA as a network carrier but Delta is trying to make inroads.
MCI: ORD, DEN, and DFW are all better hubs than any DL hub in terms of O&D and geographic proximity so Delta invests in a club to try to entice since their network is inferior.
AUS: Obvious reasons but DL has no hub anywhere nearby AUS, like DFW & IAH, for a traveler that needs to go closer than ATL, SLC, or MSP.
BNA: Same. Natural O&D is not to DTW & MSP. ATL is an easier drive than flight and AA/UA all serve the natural O&D major cities and provide better networks than DL.
It's fun to suggest DL wants to provide a more "premium experience" but the reality is they're desperately (but as cheap as they can) trying to make up for a deficient network in these growing/rich cities that other carriers can with hubs in DEN, PHX, ORD, DFW, IAH, NYC, WAS, MIA can do easily.
I'm not comparing DL non-hub cities to other carrier hubs.
Your point about geographic proximity makes no sense.
Geographic proximity to what? Every point on earth is closer to something else than somewhere else.
Unless you can show us all of the traffic flows over each AA, DL and UA hub, your statement about hub location is meaningless opinion.
And Delta does have Sky Clubs in DEN, PHX, DFW, multiple airports in NYC,...
I'm not comparing DL non-hub cities to other carrier hubs.
Your point about geographic proximity makes no sense.
Geographic proximity to what? Every point on earth is closer to something else than somewhere else.
Unless you can show us all of the traffic flows over each AA, DL and UA hub, your statement about hub location is meaningless opinion.
And Delta does have Sky Clubs in DEN, PHX, DFW, multiple airports in NYC, DCA, and MIA.
Let us know how many AA and UA lounges are in Delta hubs.
and don't talk about the superior market size of AA and UA hubs but not DL's. Delta is the largest airline in both NYC and LAX by local passengers
Now, would you like to compare the number of NON-HUB lounges for DL to NON-HUB lounges for other carriers?
Lol.
Ok, tim… “geographic distance to a major hub doesn’t matter”… by your nonsense, Alaska and Seattle are an amazing local hub for BNa. Ok…
Keep dreaming. And stop trying your usual nonsensical misdirection. Doesn’t work. You really should read and think before posting your usual delta nonsense. There’s a reason delta is trying to build lounges in places where they have an inferior network to the competition. It isn’t rocket science
...
Lol.
Ok, tim… “geographic distance to a major hub doesn’t matter”… by your nonsense, Alaska and Seattle are an amazing local hub for BNa. Ok…
Keep dreaming. And stop trying your usual nonsensical misdirection. Doesn’t work. You really should read and think before posting your usual delta nonsense. There’s a reason delta is trying to build lounges in places where they have an inferior network to the competition. It isn’t rocket science
And no… aa and ua don’t have lounges in Detroit because… it’s Detroit ;)
MAX,
the topic is Sky Club lounges in non-hub airports which is what MCI is.
Now, instead of your gibberish about the geography of hub airports, why don't you tell us why neither AA or UA have a lounge in MCI and why DL has more Sky Clubs in its non-hub airports than AA or UA?
and, btw, DL is the #1 or #2 airline in more or the top 100 US cities...
MAX,
the topic is Sky Club lounges in non-hub airports which is what MCI is.
Now, instead of your gibberish about the geography of hub airports, why don't you tell us why neither AA or UA have a lounge in MCI and why DL has more Sky Clubs in its non-hub airports than AA or UA?
and, btw, DL is the #1 or #2 airline in more or the top 100 US cities than AA or UA.
UA is consistently #4 on that list - precisely because of their decades-long dependence on regional jets which result in very low market share in their non-hub cities.
And I can assure you that Delta has far more profit in Detroit than American does in Chicago or Philadelphia. AA's presence at both is a shadow of its self. AA uses the largest possible font on its flight information screens at ORD in order to still have more than 3 screens worth of flights per bank. Even the janitors in AA's concourses at ORD are bored.
How is that new Admirals Club in Nashville coming? - while Delta customers flock to its new Sky Club or the new Sky Club at ORD.
And, once again, Delta is the largest airline by local passengers in NYC and Los Angeles - both of which are hubs.
Delta's hub strategy works. and its positioning in cities like MCI are precisely why.
it's always amazing how you can take the entire point of a reply -- how Delta puts clubs in a city where they have an inferior network -- which they do in a place like MCI (unlike UA and AA where cities like DEN, DFW, and ORD are fare more relevant than the Delta hubs), and try to misdirect with your usual nonsense.
it's tiring and not worth wasting my day about.
Go...
it's always amazing how you can take the entire point of a reply -- how Delta puts clubs in a city where they have an inferior network -- which they do in a place like MCI (unlike UA and AA where cities like DEN, DFW, and ORD are fare more relevant than the Delta hubs), and try to misdirect with your usual nonsense.
it's tiring and not worth wasting my day about.
Go cry on your own. Delta has the worst network offering out of MCI, BNA, and AUS vs the US big 4 airlines and you know it.
Chill with your usual delta kool aid.
Per your idea about hub profitability. If you care to share your internal data, go for it. but we both know you don't have it since Delta fired you ;)
Also Timmy
Still waiting for your internal hub profitability numbers since you claim to have them
Don’t make claims you can’t back up
It’s honestly just amusing reading your replies sometimes
It’s
1. Ignore the points made by someone else
2. Obscure random info
3. Lie about market share in top 100 markets (its aa; not delta)
4. Redirect to some random thing about hub profitability after your initial comments about clubs in another hub made no sense
Seriously, tim
Get a life and a job.
Also
It’s Saturday. Why are you replying in half a second. Get a life.
If you'd like to tell the DOT their data is wrong, go right ahead.
As much as you want to believe otherwise, AA is the #3 airline according to the latest DOT data.
As for geography, MCI is as long to the geographic center of the continental US.
Arguing that hub geography matters in ranking the value of a spoke city is a fools errand but it makes the LEAST SENSE from a city that is as close to the middle of the United States as any point could be,
Operating vs marketing carriers are different things, Timmy.
And right… talking about the relevance of MCI’s biggest O&D markets like chicago, denver, dallas… etc
That’s irrelevant to this discussion only in tim’s fantasy world
It’s almost amusing that you act like you don’t know why an MCI customer would prefer a hub for connecting closer to them, which is what aa and ua provide the market. Delta provides hubs with less connectivity and...
Operating vs marketing carriers are different things, Timmy.
And right… talking about the relevance of MCI’s biggest O&D markets like chicago, denver, dallas… etc
That’s irrelevant to this discussion only in tim’s fantasy world
It’s almost amusing that you act like you don’t know why an MCI customer would prefer a hub for connecting closer to them, which is what aa and ua provide the market. Delta provides hubs with less connectivity and less one stop access to other destinations. Fact. There’s not even any disputing that Den, ord, dfw, and iah provide more o&d to an MCI passenger than dtw/MSP to say nothing of better connecting opportunity
Enjoy your Saturday couchfest
Walk away when you know you’re repeating a dumb argument, Timmy.
Delta does lots of things well but a club in MCI isn’t about premium experience, it’s a cheap way to try and lure customers from a company with a subpar network for an MCI customer
Grow up
Your arguments are just honestly ludicrous
simply provide data, not your bias, to make your point.
What you think is connectivity clearly doesn't exist in the real world.
United is the 4th largest airline in MCI. They amount to squat in most cities outside of their hubs.
Sorry. You want data? Provide it. Bts is operating
Not marketing
You stated things about dtw hub profitability.
Prove it, big shot. You said it. I didn’t
Again
Enjoy your life on the couch tonight. I have plans and they don’t include you.
If you want to make random claims
Prove it
I mentioned why the bts data was specifically wrong as stated. what’s your story?
The DOT provides data for BOTH operating and marketing carriers.
Argue til the cows come home.
DL is the 2nd largest airline in MCI.
And AA clearly is interested in providing an experience more like WN which is why they didn't bother to even ask for a lounge in MCI.
If you have plans, get off the computer instead of incessantly posting in yet another feeble attempt to change reality.
AA IS NOT INTERESTED IN A LOUNGE IN MCI.
DELTA IS
I travel through MCI a few times a year, and I am very excited about this new terminal. Any new terminal would have been a significant upgrade, but from the looks of this video, they really hit it out of the park. I really love the focus on local vendors.
It’s a new terminal, rather than a new airport. Indeed it seems odd having such a large lounge at a destination with a small market share. Although it does look impressive.
We're pretty excited in KC about the new airport. I'm Plat Pro w/ AA and very rarely fly Delta due to their loyalty program, but I could get access via Amex Plat. I'm not sure there's a big benefit to having a lounge at your home airport as I like to get to the airport just before boarding anyway.
I wonder how much the airport authority paid Delta for a lounge because there’s no way this makes sense (or cents) without a huge financial subsidy. And, of course, Delta loves government largesse.
While this is great to see — I remember just no decent food options when I flew through Kansas City before the pandemic — I can name
7 other airports that should have a Sky Club before Kansas City:
Fort...
I wonder how much the airport authority paid Delta for a lounge because there’s no way this makes sense (or cents) without a huge financial subsidy. And, of course, Delta loves government largesse.
While this is great to see — I remember just no decent food options when I flew through Kansas City before the pandemic — I can name
7 other airports that should have a Sky Club before Kansas City:
Fort Myers
Pittsburgh
Houston
Chicago Midway
Sarasota
St. Louis
Washington-Dulles
Baltimore
FNT - I was curious about this so I did some digging. I was surprised to see Delta with a 14% market share in Kansas City (only behind Southwest, which has 45%) and 1.3 million passengers over the past twelve months. That's more passengers than Delta flew to most of the airports on your list, including St Louis.
Anthony, Delta certainly does well in Kansas City, but they aren't the second largest, AA is though not by a lot. The source you cite, BTS (with the auto-generated pie graph), looks at operating carriers rather than marketing carriers. In other words, all the regional flying AA does in/out of MCI aren't accounted for in those numbers you cite.
I can't see much of a need for a SkyClub at IAD. Delta focuses much more on DCA where the SkyClub is solid (they know nobody in DC likes going to IAD unless absolutely necessary). Anyone at IAD flying Delta is likely flying international on either Virgin Atlantic, Air France, or KLM - there's an Air France club there (a nice one!) and a VA lounge as well, though I think the VA lounge is...
I can't see much of a need for a SkyClub at IAD. Delta focuses much more on DCA where the SkyClub is solid (they know nobody in DC likes going to IAD unless absolutely necessary). Anyone at IAD flying Delta is likely flying international on either Virgin Atlantic, Air France, or KLM - there's an Air France club there (a nice one!) and a VA lounge as well, though I think the VA lounge is closed for renovations or something. Either way, both would beat Delta, so why waste the money.
Delta historically had a lounge in MCI. It went away sometime after they had to add the extra security area due to 9/11. I could not tell you if United or American had lounges back then as well. It also does not mean they added one this time based on that history. I just thought I would add that bit of information.
I may be there next week. I will report back