“Flagship” Delta One lounge coming to Atlanta

Delta Air Lines will open a flagship Delta One business class lounge in Atlanta as a second wave of Delta One lounges sweeps across its inland US hubs.

The lounge will be in either Concourse E or F, from which most of Delta’s long-haul international flights depart, in its own stand-alone space, separate from the Sky Clubs.

And like its four siblings at New York, Los Angeles, Boston and Seattle, the Delta One lounge at Atlanta will offer “elevated dining, spa-like amenities, and private work areas.”

A la carte dining is a hallmark of the Delta One lounges.

One of the challenges has been finding sufficient space at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, which is not just the busiest airport in North America (and indeed the world) but also Delta’s home base.

“(Atlanta) is our mothership, our headquarters, and we are the largest tenant by far,” says Rob LeBel, the airline’s Managing Director for International Sales.

“So it all comes down to how much real estate you have and what can you do with it.”

Each Delta One lounge draws design influences and materials from its location.

Speaking to Executive Traveller on a whistle-stop visit to Australia, ahead of the airline’s launch of Melbourne–Los Angeles flights in December, LeBel was unable to specift when the Atlanta “flagship lounge” would open, apart from “in the not-so-distant future.”

Delta also says upgrades to its existing Sky Clubs at Atlanta’s Concourses A and C are “coming by the end of the year”.

This follows the recent opening of a massive 24,000ft² Sky Club lounge at Concourse D, where some 500 passengers can take in panoramic views of the airfield.

Delta's new Sky Club at Atlanta Concourse D.

And more of the decidedly premium Delta One lounges are on the way, this time at Delta’s inland “core” hubs – a roster which includes Detroit, Minneapolis–St Paul, and Salt Lake City.

“From a geographical perspective, it made sense to first and foremost focus on our coastal hubs,” LeBel reflects.

With Delta One lounges at all of its coastal hubs, Delta will now turn its attention inland...

“So we hit those coastal hubs really hard – LAX, Seattle, Boston, New York – and we’ll be focussed on the core hubs going from there as well.”

Hallmarks of the Delta One lounge experience include a contemporary design and menu reflecting the lounge’s location – think martitime influence and seafood for Boston, or Manhattan art deco, a brasserie restaurant and bagels for New York.

The Brasserie Restaurant at JFK's Delta One lounge.

There are also cocktail bars, soundproof working booths, spacious well-appointed shower suites and, in the larger Delta One lounges, wellness rooms featuring relaxation pods equipped with zero-gravity and full-body massage chairs.  

Impressive cocktail bars are another element of the Delta One lounge formula.

Delta One lounges are exclusive to passengers departing or arriving in Delta One business class and the first and business class of selected partner airlines such as Air France, KLM, Korean Air and Virgin Atlantic, along with memebrs of the invitation-only Delta 360° tier booked into first class on domestic and short-range international Delta flights.

However, there are no hard plans for international Delta One lounges at the airline’s key overseas destinations.

“International is an interesting question, it’s yet to be determined, so I guess we want to see where that goes,” LeBel ponders.

“But we have fantastic joint venture partnerships, so internationally we tend to align with and leverage access to some amazing lounges with our partners.”