Marisa Garcia Delta celebrated the grand opening of its second-largest Delta Sky Club at Atlanta Concourse B on Friday. While it may be the airline’s second largest it is far from second best.
The new facility is located above the B Concourse of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, and features floor-to-ceiling windows with panoramic skyline view that stretch all the way to downtown Atlanta.
The lounge’s design strikes a lovely balance between modernity, simplicity, comfort and warmth. It’s easy to imaging sitting comfortably at work at the power stations overlooking the terminal, and giving your eyes a pleasant break from staring at the screen by checking out the aircraft.
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THE GALLERY—an exhibition that greets guests along the walk into the Club—will showcase the work of emerging artists and local galleries. Inside the Club, aviation fans will find a texture-patterned Wright Brothers mural by Atlanta-based artist Alexi Torres, among other decorative works of art.
The Eames-inspired chairs and barstools at the restaurant and bar area are lovely—as is the whole of the smart decor.
There are wonderful productivity spaces with considerations for today’s highly connected travellers, as well as speces to relax and enjoy the wait before boarding. Guests have power outlets near every seat and Wi-Fi throughout, as well as TVs, magazines, and quiet work areas.
“The ATL B club represents our latest innovation in thoughtfulness around the guest experience,” says Claude Roussel, Managing Director – Delta Sky Club. “Whether it’s the food, easily accessible power, latest furniture, unique artwork from local galleries, or a dedicated team ready to assist with guest’s needs.”
FAB Pleasures
Delta’s new lounge includes plenty to please the palate and satisfy the appetite.
One of the decorative features of the lounge is a wine wall, featuring a selection of wines curated by Delta’s Master Sommelier Andrea Robinson. A wine ambassador helps members and guests sample the selection, and serves up their choice.
THE BAR at Delta Sky Club also offers a variety of premium and complimentary cocktails, and Sweetwater craft beer.
For hungry hearts there is delectable Southern fare, designed by the Atlanta Chef Linton Hopkins, who also crafted menus served on select Delta flights from Atlanta to Europe. In the Sky Club, flyers will find soups based on local recipes, as well as exclusive salads and breads. Other dishes include pasta and rice salads, corn and blueberry muffins, rye rolls and soup toppings, including crispy chickpeas, coconut shavings and croutons. During breakfast hours, Delta serves up locally baked bagels, hard boiled eggs and a yogurt bar with toppings. Fruit and snacks are available throughout the day for anyone who needs a snack.
Need fuel to jet? In the breakfast/lunch/dinner of champions category, the Sky Club lounge features Starbucks coffee, freshly brewed or from a state-of-the-art automatic Swiss coffee maker.
Investments in Experience from the Ground Up
Construction for the Atlanta B Delta Sky Club began in late 2015. The facility is a freestanding structure uniquely suspended over the tarmac by 455 tons of steel trusses, beams and cantilevers.
Located on Concourse B near Gate B18, the Sky Club offers almost 25,000 square feet of open floor space, which makes it second in size only to Delta’s New York – JFK’s T4 facility. It has seating capacity for 500 guests, and Delta expects it to be the busiests of its Sky Club lounges.
Delta operates almost 1,000 daily peak day departures to more than 200 destinations around the globe from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
Delta has been investing in improvements to its Sky Clubs for over two years, as part of its efforts to attract more premium customers and keep loyal frequent flyers happy. Delta operates a total of nine Clubs in the Atlanta airport and 50 around the world.
With the opening of the Atlanta B Club, Delta will close its other two Clubs near gates B10 and B25. In October, a second Delta Sky Club will open between Concourses A and B, offering another option for global travellers.
Renovations of the Sky Club in Raleigh-Durham will be completed for a late November 2016 opening. Those renovations include space for additional seats, more accessible power and a new food and beverage area.
Delta will also expand its Sky Club lounge in Newark in late 2016, including a redesigned bar and more food options.
This lounge renovation program is part of the airline’s ongoing customer experience improvements, which include the launch of the world’s first ever business-class suites. It has been a swift and steady response to quality competition from airlines abroad, and intelligently deployed.
But don’t think of moving in to any airline lounge permanently–especially without paying. One traveller tried to save hotel charges by doing just that, and wound up paying more than he might have liked for the pleasure. (Though he did get a free room, in the end).
