Negative Changes to Delta Sky Club Access
Update 5/12/22: Delta sent out an email that they have listened to the negative feedback and have made the following adjustments to the proposed changes:
- Customers will be able to access the Club anytime within three hours of their scheduled departure time (and connecting customers can continue to access the Club at any time during their layover) starting Wednesday, June 1.
- Arriving customers – with or without a connection – will be able to enjoy the Club upon arrival, as you do today.
Delta has updated access rules for its Sky Club lounges, adding a time limit of three hours before the scheduled departure for your flight, among other negative changes.
Beginning June 1, 2022, guests will be able to access Clubs anytime within 3 hours of their scheduled departure time, Delta says. So if you plan to arrive early at the airport, you’ll no longer be able to relax at a Sky Club lounge more than three hours ahead.
Flight delays or interruptions don’t affect Club access, as long as customers enter the Club within three hours of their originally scheduled departure time.
This new rule doesn’t apply to connecting customers who can continue to access Clubs at any time prior to departure, even if that departure is after more than three hours.
There’s also a change for arriving passengers. With the exception of arriving Delta One customers, Club access will be unavailable for arriving customers without a connection. Note that a same-day round-trip does not qualify as a connection. Customers will only be able to access Clubs within 3 hours of their scheduled departure flight and within 3 hours of their return flight.
These changes also apply to the two one-time Guest Passes Delta SkyMiles Reserve and Reserve Business American Express Cards Members receive each year upon renewal of their Card.
The company says its “priority is to balance the popularity of the Delta Sky Club experience with the premium atmosphere and service we wish to provide for our guests.” This is a permanent change to the Delta Sky Club policy, the company notes in the announcement.
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Something has to be done so it seems these are logical minor changes to try to reduce the overcrowding. Personally I’ve never used a lounge on arrival and don’t get to an airport more then 3 hours prior to flight time.
Like Nathan, I never use a lounge upon arrival. And, after luggage and security, it’s hard to imagine still having three full hours prior to the door closing. Like Nathan, I view this as a positive — anything to preserve it being a refuge.
It really means it’s a 2 1/2 hours or less limit as passengers risk being bumped if they’re not at the gate thirty minutes before scheduled departure time.
For cities with more than one lounge, I wonder if there’s a “loophole” that allows a passenger to reset the clock at a different lounge.
We know how to get around that when needed. I rarely have that need.
Given my home airport doesn’t have a Sky Club, and I never visit upon arrival (I just want to get to my final destination, i.e., hotel, family, Airbnb), I view this as a positive change if it helps reduce overcrowding even a little.