Delta Air Lines operates eight lounges out of its fortress hub at Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport. This review focuses on the Sky Club in Concourse B, which includes Delta’s first grab-and-go concept.
Delta Sky Club Concourse B Review – Atlanta (ATL)
Picture ATL like a series of vertical lines, almost like a bar graph, starting in Terminal T and then going A – B – C – D – E – F. Terminal B is the third concourse you come to after clearing security on the “domestic” side of the airport. It’s a massive airport and Delta offers many lounges. These lounges tend to get very crowded and beyond restricting who has access, Delta has introduced what it calls a “grab and go experience” at this lounge for those who may just want to grab a quick bite to eat or drink on the way to their flight.
Hours + Access + Location
The lounge is open daily from 5:30 am to 10:30 pm and is located in Concourse B near gate B18. I stood outside the lounge to take the picture above. By the time I got my unobstructed picture (about three minutes), there was a line outside waiting to get in, with an agent sending people upstairs only in proportion to those who came out.
Access is available to:
- Delta Sky Club members (along with same-day boarding pass for Delta or a partner)
- Lifetime members can access the club regardless of the airline they are traveling on
- Two guests or immediate family (including all children under age 21) are permitted for “executive” members while “individual” members must pay $50 for guests (max two).
- Delta One or SkyTeam premium cabin passengers
- Access only when traveling on a branded “Delta One’ (versus first class) domestically
- Access when connecting to/from a same-day international Delta One flight
- No guests permitted
- SkyTeam Elite Plus members traveling on an international ticket in any cabin of service
- Includes Canada, Mexico
- Excludes Caribbean, Guam, Palau, Saipan
- One guest permitted
- There is an exception for SkyTeam Elite Plus passengers via SkyMiles (no access if traveling in economy class)
- Select credit card holders
- Delta SkyMiles Reserve from American Express
- no access on basic economy fares
- limited to 15 visits per year unless $75,000 annual spending on card
- guests are $50 each
- American Express Platinum / Centurion
- no access for Platinum business cards
- limited to 10 visits per year unless $75,000 annual spending on card
- no access on basic economy fares
- Delta SkyMiles Diners Club card
- Three visits per year (guests are included in this count)
- no access on basic economy fares
- two guests permitted
- Delta SkyMiles TRUST CLUB Platinum/Gold Visa card
- Six visits per year (guests are included in this count) for Platinum, three visits for Gold card
- no access on basic economy fares
- two guests permitted
- Delta SkyMiles Reserve from American Express
- WestJet Business Class passengers
- No guests permitted
- WestJet Rewards Gold and Platinum members
- Access only when traveling on a transborder flight
- One guest permitted
The grab-and-go section is just inside the entrance with the lounge upstairs.
Seating
The lounge is a massive 24,000 square feet, making it the airline’s second-largest Sky Club in ATL behind the new lounge in Terminal D. Even so, at 7:50 am it was packed…most chairs were taken and a swarm of people hovered around the buffet and bar waiting to scoop up food.
Food + Drink
This lounge features a full breakfast spread during the morning hours, including sausage, scrambled eggs, potatoes, salad, bagels, toast, and croissants. Food is available via a central buffet area in the middle of the lounge, with a full-service bar behind and drink stations in two other sections around the lounge (one with cereal and pastries).
Restrooms + Showers
Restrooms are available, but no showers. The restrooms were so crowded I was unable to take any pictures.
Grab & Go
This lounge is unique among Delta’s eight ATL lounges in that it has a to-go section, where you can grab:
- hot breakfast sandwiches
- sandwiches
- salads
- yogurt
- muffins
- chips
- cookies
- sliced fruit
- yogurt
- soft drinks
- juice
- coffee
Unlike United’ grab-and-go concept in Denver or Houston, there is no barista to make coffee.
The “grab and go experience” is an either-or concept. You can either avail yourself to the go-area or the lounge, but not both. I’m not sure how strictly that is enforced, but a “gatekeeper” at the door made that clear to everyone who walked into the lounge.
CONCLUSION
Delta’s grab-and-go experience is a helpful innovation in an airport as busy as Atlanta, especially considering how crowded the lounge was upstairs. I expect we will see this concept expand to more hubs. The lounge itself was fine, but extremely crowded.
Love the “Grab and Go” option, it really expands the value proposition for a lounge, as it makes it something worthwhile even if you don’t budget any substantive time before departure, or have a quick layover. Like you said, hope it expands to other lounges, and I suspect it will, as it likely ends up reducing the average cost per user- less food waste, less staff for clearing and cleaning dishes, etc.
Might wanna include a map like this to give people who have never been to ATL an idea of just how the concourses are spread out.
https://www.airportmaps.com/images/png/atl.png
Also might be good to let people know how long it takes to get from one concourse to another.
That’s fair – unfortunately, maybe someone else can chime in about the train, since I walked from concourse to concourse (wanted to get my steps in before the 14.5-hour flihgt on Korean Air).
I use this Sky Club all the time but I’ve never seen it so full!
B lounge still uses paper and paper and plastic plates and utensils…D lounge has the real stuff!! as do some many other lounges?? not sure why B does not..
Earlier this year the bartender in this lounge told me 5000 people pass through it every day. That’s very easy to believe. Hopefully the new D lounge, now easily the nicest sky club in Atlanta, will relieve pressure on the B lounge.