Travel Tips
Travel Tuesday: Delta’s Newest Sky Club in Atlanta Has Arrived
Delta has debuted its latest Sky Club location at its hometown hub — which also happens to be the busiest airport in the world: Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta. This week, the airline shared a first look at its new Concourse D lounge. While this is now the eighth Sky Club at ATL, there were previously nine, with this updated location replacing the two smaller ones that were found in that concourse.
According to Delta, this new location is over 24,000 square feet and has seating for more than 500 guests. That latter figure tops any other Sky Club in the airport, although the square footage makes it the second-largest Delta lounge on the property. This latest lounge is located near gate D18, whereas the prior spaces were near D12 and D27 respectively.
In terms of decor and theme, Delta states that the new location takes inspiration from Atlanta’s “Southern hospitality and urban elegance.” Within the space, travelers will find a 16-seat bar, theater-style media wall, and half a dozen sound-proof telephone booths (yes, really). Of course, the lounge also includes a food buffet along with beverage stations. The area also includes expansive windows, giving loungegoers views of the airfield.
I was already partial to the Sky Clubs at Concourses F and E, so it’s funny that the best lounge options continue to be stacked at one end of the airport (I would have said “stacked at one end of the alphabet,” but Concourse T is actually on the far end, beyond Concourse A). However, it seems that even more updates are in the works. Delta says that, next up, Sky Clubs at Concourses A and C will be refreshed.
As a reminder, there are a couple of credit card options that will grant you access to the Delta Sky Clubs. My personal favorite is the American Express Platinum Card, which includes Sky Club access when you’re traveling on Delta. Alas, new rules do limit these visits to 10 per year per cardholder — unless you spend $75,000 per year on your card. Meanwhile, if you’re not flying Delta or want to hold on to your visit allotment, there’s also an Amex Centurion Lounge in Concourse E.
The other main card for Sky Club access is the Delta SkyMiles Reserve American Express Card. This option does offer more visits than the Amex Platinum at 15 per Medallion Year. Once again, though, you can earn unlimited visits by spending at least $75,000 on the card in a calendar year.
By the way, if you’re not familiar with the layout of ATL, you should know that traveling from concourse to concourse is pretty quick and simple. Thus, should you find yourself passing through the airport (and you have the proper credentials/credit card of course), you should be able to head over to Concourse D to see this new location. Of course, if you’re short on time and just want to grab something quickly, there will surely be a Sky Club location found closer to your departure gate. And, speaking of grabbing and going, there’s even a Grab and Go Experience in Concourse B as an alternative to the regular Sky Club Experience.
As someone who travels through Atlanta fairly frequently (or at least has in years past), I am looking forward to checking out this new Sky Club location. That said, it won’t be my go-to all the time for one simple reason: a lack of showers. Having experienced how nice it is to take a hot shower after a long-haul flight, in those situations, I guess I’ll still be heading over to Concourses E or F. On that note, perhaps this fancy new spot will pull guests away from those other popular locations. That may be a pipe dream but I guess I’ll find out on my next trip to ATL.
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