Several days ago, we saw the opening of the new Delta One Lounge JFK, which is the first location in the carrier’s new network of premium lounges. While the lounge looks incredible in terms of design, food, and drinks, unfortunately initial reviews suggest that crowding is a major problem, and detracts from the experience.
Delta One Lounge JFK already has crowding problems
I hope to check out the Delta One Lounge JFK for myself in the near future. In the meantime, I’ve been keeping an eye on the initial commentary about the lounge online, from those who have visited. Almost across the board, people agree it’s a beautiful facility. However, perhaps unsurprisingly, crowding is a major issue, to the point that it detracts from the experience.
Twitter/X user @bbabbo1 experienced a line to get in, and describes the lounge as “a luxurious madhouse,” offering an ambiance of “chaos of sorts.”
FlyerTalk member DrMilano reports that their parents tried to use the lounge, but saw a line to get in, so decided to go to the Amex Centurion Lounge instead.
Meanwhile FlyerTalk member GfromNY shares that there was no line to get into the Delta One Lounge JFK during their visit, and that the lounge is very nice. However, they “found it uncomfortably crowded and loud,” adding that they “like to relax before a flight, and there was no relaxation to be had in the Delta One Lounge.” They left after “walking a lap around the place just to take a look.”
Equally interesting, that same passenger reports then heading over to the Delta Sky Club JFK at gate B32, where there was a short line to get in. Okay, that’s much better than in the past, but keep in mind that in a recent interview, Delta’s VP of lounges stated that “no lines, no lines, no lines in our Concourse B Sky Club anymore” (yes, he said it three times, not me). It sounds like that’s not the case.
This isn’t surprising, but detracts from the experience
I can’t say that I’m surprised to see these reports. Even though the Delta One Lounge JFK is Delta’s biggest lounge ever and has the capacity for over 500 guests, the reality is that Delta also has a huge amount of premium cabin capacity over some hours of the day.
Now, I trust that the Delta One Lounge is probably an oasis of calm in the mornings and early afternoons. However, a majority of flights with Delta One depart in the evening and at night, when you have a bunch of services to Europe, Latin America, to the West Coast, etc.
So the reality is that even though this crowding is probably only an issue for a limited number of hours per day, that’s probably what most guests are experiencing.
In Delta’s defense, I don’t think the airline is necessarily doing anything wrong here. This is a large facility, and ultimately Delta has greatly expanded its lounge capacity. Furthermore, most airlines have banked hubs, so it’s normal for lounges to get especially crowded over certain hours of the day.
Delta probably couldn’t get its hands on more lounge space, and Delta isn’t going to rework its schedule just to make the lounge experience better for passengers.
With the Delta One Lounge JFK being so heavily focused on dining, and a large part of the space having a brasserie concept, I can kind of imagine this lounge sounding like one of those uncomfortably loud restaurants, where you can barely hear what the person you’re with is saying.
Bottom line
The Delta One Lounge JFK opened several days ago, and looks beautiful. Most importantly, it adds much needed lounge capacity to the airport. While that’s great, unfortunately it sounds like some passengers aren’t finding the lounge to be very relaxing, and there’s even sometimes a line to get into the lounge.
I can’t say I’m surprised by this development, or that it’s really any different than what you’ll find at many other lounges. However, given the size of this lounge and how hyped it was by the airline, it’s definitely disappointing.
What do you make of these reports about the Delta One Lounge JFK? To those who have visited the lounge, what was your experience like (and what time of day did you visit)?
