timmy83

This will also have to be edited "Our Delta Sky Club bars have an indulgent selection of complimentary soft drinks, beer, wine and premium liquors to help you unwind"

I'm fairly certain that they can't call a single one of their revised offerings "premium"

tkey75

Having to pay extra for local beers is the straw for me. Notice how I used the word 'extra', since I already paid for it. Dearly and upfront.

So long, SC.

flyerslc

This is really pathetic. Scoresby Scotch, really? This bilge is supposedly aged 3 years, as if that was something to brag about. This review from Angelsportion sums it up:

Nose: When it comes to floor paints, Scoresby is well above the lesser Glidden and just below the higher quality Behr. It does have a long way to go to reach the caliber of Sherwyn Williams. But relatively speaking, this was my first thought, and it only applies to floor paints. It could be different if I’d been thinking of waterproofing or indoor wall coverings.

Palate: This was tough. My synapses fired forth images from the “Animal Kingdom” portion of my brain, that section that helps me say “Run for your lives, it’s a lion!” when a lion is near. Savoring (not gulping, but actually swishing), Scoresby must be very close to whatever fluids are used by animals to mark their territory. Even further, I’d say that Scoresby was sprayed by a pregnant female in that it offers the contours of a spray enhanced by hormone increases.

Finish: Long-lasting and enjoyable, like a migraine combined with the difficulty of trying to run away from that lion while one of your principal limbs has fallen asleep, except this time, it’s not just your leg, but your face, too.

kitkat77

I usually access SC on an international ticket (STE+), but the elimination of local craft brews as a complimentary choice (or even Heineken/Blue Moon), will prevent me from ever bothering to pay for it.

Way to go, DL. Keep cutting benefits with 1-5 days notice. Classy.

flyerslc

This is really outrageous. What is the point of having a lounge if you can't drink the offerings? The food was already essentially crap you could buy at the 7-11 or newsstand in the airport. If you have to pay for something that won't give you a headache, you can do it anywhere else in the airport.

vincentharris

Got to love the way marketing creates these press releases to make it sound like its an enhancement.

timmy83

Ditto.

I'm currently working on a letter that I plan on faxing to them.

Delta may have done market research or something regarding this move, but I'm very doubtful.

I belong to a wonderful bar near my house. It costs $15 a month (read - less than skyclub) and does not get me anything free. Just admission. I happily pay it because the ambiance is wonderful and the drinks are fantastic. The drinks are also priced at less than the DL Luxury Bar offerings, and are much tastier. If anyone happens to be in the STL area, I can happily guest you in if I'm home :-) http://bloodandsandstl.com/

The Skyclub rarely has a nice ambiance (yes - sometimes it's quiet), the luxury bar drinks are overpriced, and they're poorly made. Also, the snack offerings are terrible. Maybe the average visitor to these clubs doesn't care, but I'm pretty disappointed in this change, as it takes away the one perk, which is the Tanqueray and tonic I have each time.

That said, if perhaps they are only planning on charging a small up-charge for Tanqueray (I'm thinking a couple bucks) and they improve the ambiance it might be worth it. If they added some reasonable snacks, that would help too. I really like the chips in the US clubs and the cookies (individually wrapped milano cookies) in the UA clubs. Perhaps DL could continue aligning towards that.

I'm very curious to see what these up and coming changes are. My membership expires in November, after which I'll be getting a non-DL platinum AmEx.

realjd

Myers Platinum is a decent rum. Bacardi isn't necessarily a bad rum, but there's much better white rum out there at the same or lower price point and Myers Platinum is one of the ones I like better. Cruzan is my favorite white rum, but Myers Platinum is a step up in my book.

The rest of the changes are a significant step down.

MS02113

Thanks for this interesting—and, for Delta, damning—information. I'd also be interested to see the prices of Dewar's and Scoresby, since the scotch offering seems to have dropped the most in quality (not that Dewar's was good to begin with). Scoresby? Really? I still can't get over the sheer tackiness of it.

jamesteroh

Thanks. Seeing delta is now saving a lot on booze (and not to mention most will be drinking less as well with these crappy brands) how can they justify a $50 a year increase in dues???? With all the other recent "enhancemts" they should be dropping prices not raising them

psa727

My SC membership expires in a couple of weeks, and I will not be renewing it. Just not cost efficient any more. Always wanted to have some place to escape the noise, but it is hardly quiet in the SC anyway. Cutting out the Sunset Wheat beer in the ATL clubs really ticked me off. That is one of my favourites. Although, it never beats a pint of VB.

smachiz

This is pretty disappointing. Any minute I'm sure we'll start getting one drink voucher per visit just like AA :/

timmy83

Please be sure to contact someone at DL to let them know why you're not renewing.

itsaboutthejourney

Taking away complementary Tanquaray and replacing it with Gordons is a huge mistake. Its fake cheese all over again.

So much progress has been made to the SkyClubs, then things like this happen.

Mendobrew

The rum change was obviously to get all liquors that are served at Skyclubs into the Diagio portfolio. I understand the choice to go all Diagio products; consistency across all states and only having to source from one distributor in all states. It also helps that Diagio’s largest distributor in the US (Southern Wine & Spirits) is also the main liquor distributor in most DL hub states.

But… Delta could have chosen 10 Cane Rum instead of Meyers Platinum and they still would have purchased a less expensive product than Bacardi (about $5 a case) and 10 Cane is far superior to most other highly distributed rums.

I would love to have been a fly on the wall when the Diagio deal was done. It would be interesting to see what states liquor laws that Delta was able to use to take advantage of the no cost or greatly reduced pricing on product that Diagio used as a carrot to get this deal done. I would also be willing to bet that several cases of Veuve and BV Latour made their way to certain offices on Virginia Ave as a small thank you this past holiday season…