Sky Club Access questions (June 2022 onward)
May 4, 2022, 5:52 pm
#151
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Astoria, NY: LGA, JFK
Programs: Delta PM; Sheraton's Vistana BOD; SPG Gold
Posts: 2,035
Please spare me the judgmental response.
May 4, 2022, 6:12 pm
#153
Join Date: Feb 2015
Programs: Delta DM
Posts: 552
and at some airports, a shower.
May 4, 2022, 6:14 pm
#154
Join Date: Aug 2016
Location: BOS
Programs: AA PP, DL PM
Posts: 2,086
I’m typing this from the new LAX Sky Club, which I got to 4 hours before my 8pm flight departure. I finished meetings at 1, went to get a late lunch, walked on the beach for a while, and still got to the airport by 4.
Given the lines in DTW and LGA, I think it makes sense to do something. This change allows them to accommodate more entrances and thus serve a greater proportion of customers (and collect more revenue from the per-access customers).
I used the AA Flagship Lounge on arrival for this trip, since I had to wait for a coworker. I ended up spending about an hour and a half there. It’s rare but useful for me. The Sky Club dinner spread is more impressive than the Flagship Lounge breakfast spread.
Im honestly a bit surprised that they carved out 360 and Centurion. It makes sense not to alienate your best customers, and perhaps Amex pays slightly more for black card members. This might hint at the D1 Lounge access policy.
With regard to membership vs reserve card vs Amex Platinum, historically Delta has treated them all the same for access (with slight differences involving partner flights). I would bet that DL on average makes more money off of a Reserve cardholder than a Sky Club member. Everyone on FT always wants the access methods they do not use to be limited.
Perhaps this will make Sky Team / Virgin lounges slightly more busy at airports that have them as well as a Sky Club.
Given the lines in DTW and LGA, I think it makes sense to do something. This change allows them to accommodate more entrances and thus serve a greater proportion of customers (and collect more revenue from the per-access customers).
I used the AA Flagship Lounge on arrival for this trip, since I had to wait for a coworker. I ended up spending about an hour and a half there. It’s rare but useful for me. The Sky Club dinner spread is more impressive than the Flagship Lounge breakfast spread.
Im honestly a bit surprised that they carved out 360 and Centurion. It makes sense not to alienate your best customers, and perhaps Amex pays slightly more for black card members. This might hint at the D1 Lounge access policy.
With regard to membership vs reserve card vs Amex Platinum, historically Delta has treated them all the same for access (with slight differences involving partner flights). I would bet that DL on average makes more money off of a Reserve cardholder than a Sky Club member. Everyone on FT always wants the access methods they do not use to be limited.
Perhaps this will make Sky Team / Virgin lounges slightly more busy at airports that have them as well as a Sky Club.
May 4, 2022, 6:28 pm
#156
Join Date: Dec 2018
Programs: $9 Fare Club
Posts: 1,478
May 4, 2022, 6:38 pm
#157
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: BOS/EAP
Programs: UA 1K, MR LTT, HH Dia, Amex Plat
Posts: 31,978
This is great. I like the change. Might bring some extra business to Delta from my end.
They had to do something, like Amex with Centurion lounge access (can't wait till that changes and guest access finally goes away). Will be a much better experience for everyone else
They had to do something, like Amex with Centurion lounge access (can't wait till that changes and guest access finally goes away). Will be a much better experience for everyone else
May 4, 2022, 6:38 pm
#158
Join Date: May 2015
Location: DCA
Programs: AA EXP, DL FO, Marriott Titanium
Posts: 6,712
May 4, 2022, 6:47 pm
#159
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2010
Programs: DL, OZ, AC, AS, AA, BA, Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott, IHG
Posts: 19,890
I totally agree with you, but I suspect the revenue from the AMEX partnership is too great for DL. I do agree with you that I think DL elites like Diamonds should be exempt from these changes.
May 4, 2022, 6:48 pm
#160
Join Date: Feb 2020
Location: London/JAX
Programs: DL PM, BA Gold, UA Silver, Marriott Titanium, Hilton Gold, Radisson Premium, Global Entry, CLEAR
Posts: 870
[QUOTE=yogimax;34221265]
I'm not sure, the one time I went to the new club at FLL was at 11AM on a Sunday in early March and I had to wait in line to get in due to it being at capacity.
Not sure what flight availability has to do with going to the airport more than three hours in advance of boarding.[/QUOTE
You have to leave the cruise ship by a certain time. You can't hang out at the port. Only reasonable place to go is the airport.
By the way, the Sky Club was not over crowded, everyone had a seat, they didn't run out of food or drinks.
You have to leave the cruise ship by a certain time. You can't hang out at the port. Only reasonable place to go is the airport.
By the way, the Sky Club was not over crowded, everyone had a seat, they didn't run out of food or drinks.
May 4, 2022, 6:48 pm
#161
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: California
Posts: 241
For arrival access, one trick mentioned on the OMAAT comments for the article referring to this news is to book an onward ticket so you can access the SkyClub as a connecting rather than arriving passenger before cancelling within the 24-hour window. That seems awfully risky for little marginal benefit, especially if DL catches wind of it.
I understand why DL is making this change but agree it'll have little impact. I only very sparingly use arrival access for the reasons already mentioned, especially for showers after red-eyes, some quick work, or to meet someone arriving later. I have friends who use it much more. Anecdotally though, outside of large SCs such as JFK, I've noticed the SC agents react with annoyance more often these days when I access on arrival. But I'll miss saying a quick hello to my favorite SC bartenders and staff on arrival for sure.
I understand why DL is making this change but agree it'll have little impact. I only very sparingly use arrival access for the reasons already mentioned, especially for showers after red-eyes, some quick work, or to meet someone arriving later. I have friends who use it much more. Anecdotally though, outside of large SCs such as JFK, I've noticed the SC agents react with annoyance more often these days when I access on arrival. But I'll miss saying a quick hello to my favorite SC bartenders and staff on arrival for sure.
May 4, 2022, 6:54 pm
#162
Join Date: Jan 2022
Programs: DL, UA, AA
Posts: 1,996
Originally Posted by Goodoldflyer View Post
Not sure what flight availability has to do with going to the airport more than three hours in advance of boarding.
YogiMax wrote:
You have to leave the cruise ship by a certain time. You can't hang out at the port. Only reasonable place to go is the airport.
By the way, the Sky Club was not over crowded, everyone had a seat, they didn't run out of food or drinks.
coke cans and winglets wrote:
I'm not sure, the one time I went to the new club at FLL was at 11AM on a Sunday in early March and I had to wait in line to get in due to it being at capacity.
That quote you replied to was from yogimax, not me... I reconstructed as best I could...
Not sure what flight availability has to do with going to the airport more than three hours in advance of boarding.
YogiMax wrote:
You have to leave the cruise ship by a certain time. You can't hang out at the port. Only reasonable place to go is the airport.
By the way, the Sky Club was not over crowded, everyone had a seat, they didn't run out of food or drinks.
coke cans and winglets wrote:
I'm not sure, the one time I went to the new club at FLL was at 11AM on a Sunday in early March and I had to wait in line to get in due to it being at capacity.
That quote you replied to was from yogimax, not me... I reconstructed as best I could...
May 4, 2022, 6:59 pm
#163
Join Date: Feb 2020
Location: London/JAX
Programs: DL PM, BA Gold, UA Silver, Marriott Titanium, Hilton Gold, Radisson Premium, Global Entry, CLEAR
Posts: 870
Originally Posted by Goodoldflyer View Post
Not sure what flight availability has to do with going to the airport more than three hours in advance of boarding.
YogiMax wrote:
You have to leave the cruise ship by a certain time. You can't hang out at the port. Only reasonable place to go is the airport.
By the way, the Sky Club was not over crowded, everyone had a seat, they didn't run out of food or drinks.
coke cans and winglets wrote:
I'm not sure, the one time I went to the new club at FLL was at 11AM on a Sunday in early March and I had to wait in line to get in due to it being at capacity.
That quote you replied to was from yogimax, not me... I reconstructed as best I could...
Not sure what flight availability has to do with going to the airport more than three hours in advance of boarding.
YogiMax wrote:
You have to leave the cruise ship by a certain time. You can't hang out at the port. Only reasonable place to go is the airport.
By the way, the Sky Club was not over crowded, everyone had a seat, they didn't run out of food or drinks.
coke cans and winglets wrote:
I'm not sure, the one time I went to the new club at FLL was at 11AM on a Sunday in early March and I had to wait in line to get in due to it being at capacity.
That quote you replied to was from yogimax, not me... I reconstructed as best I could...
May 4, 2022, 7:02 pm
#164
Join Date: Jan 2022
Programs: DL, UA, AA
Posts: 1,996
May 4, 2022, 7:06 pm
#165
Join Date: Feb 2020
Location: London/JAX
Programs: DL PM, BA Gold, UA Silver, Marriott Titanium, Hilton Gold, Radisson Premium, Global Entry, CLEAR
Posts: 870
I did make a comment earlier about arrival pax and pax showing up 3+ hours out with no connection and while virtually no one is complaining about not being able to get in 3+ hours out, there are more arrival pax than I thought. With that said though, I do think most of the arrival pax, like the ones in this thread, aren't staying for more than 15-30 minutes max. I really appreciate the initiative from Delta here as they are acknowledging overcrowding is an issue but there is still a lot of room for improvement. None of this affects me as stated previously but it shows that maybe Delta doesn't need to be beating around the bush like this and working at small things instead of the big picture. Cutting back on guest access for example would have a greater impact than this. I can appreciate that Delta is at least acknowledging the problem though instead of acting like everything's fine.