Delta Air Lines has invested heavily in its Sky Club product this year, increasing seating capacity and offering a more premium experience at many locations across its network. The carrier has also opened four new Sky Clubs, including its largest at New York La Guardia Airport (LGA), a 22,000-square-foot lounge at Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD), and its first-ever international lounge at Tokyo Haneda Airport (HND).

However, the airline's Sky Clubs have become a victim of their own success. Their popularity has grown to the extent that members are becoming frustrated at having to wait in line to enter or search for seating once inside.

This has led Delta Air Lines to introduce some significant, and controversial, changes to its Sky Club access policy. As of January 1st, 2023, only Diamond, Platinum, Gold, and Silver Medallion members of a certain tier status or higher will be able to purchase either an individual or executive membership.

Not only is the airline restricting who can buy a membership, but it will also be increasing the prices of membership, in some cases, by as much as 75%. Next year, the price of an individual membership will increase from $545 to $695, and the price of an executive membership will rocket from $845 to a staggering $1,495.

Another major change is that Delta Air Lines will no longer allow passengers traveling on a Basic Economy fare to enter its Sky Clubs, regardless of their Medallion tier status. The only exception is for Basic Economy passengers accessing the Sky Club with a Delta SkyMiles Platinum American Express card, although the fee for doing so will increase from $39 to $50 per visit. This will undoubtedly encourage more customers to take out the American Express card.

Justifying the move, Delta Air Lines’ senior vice president of customer engagement and loyalty, Dwight James, said,

“It’s incredibly important to us that Delta Sky Clubs continue to deliver an industry-leading experience for our guests. While we’re thrilled to see so many customers enjoy the fruits of our teams’ hard work, our goal now is to balance the popularity of the Clubs with the premium service and atmosphere for which they were designed – and that our guests deserve.”

Social media backlash

Unsurprisingly, the announcement has not been well received by current members and frequent flyers. Many took to Twitter to vent their frustration, with some citing the profitability of the airline's partnership with American Express as a reason for the change in policy:

The airline has confirmed that there will be no changes to Delta Sky Club access eligibility for Delta 360 Members, Elite Plus members of other SkyTeam airlines, Delta and SkyTeam Elite Plus members flying in the airline’s Premium Select and Delta One cabins, and passengers in its Delta One cabin.

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Priority access at high-capacity Sky Clubs

In a bid to better tackle overcrowding, Delta Air Lines will introduce priority access at high-capacity clubs, which was trialed over the summer at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (ATL). Diamond Medallion and Delta 360 members, in addition to Delta One customers, will benefit from expedited entry when Sky Clubs are at capacity.

The airline will also begin to make more use of digital technology. Passengers will soon be able to monitor how busy Sky Clubs are through the Fly Delta app, enabling them to better plan their visit.

Earlier this year, Delta Air Lines encountered similar controversy when it tried to restrict access to its Sky Club arrivals lounges. It then backtracked as a result of the backlash from passengers, but it remains to be seen if the same will happen with this most recent batch of changes.

What do you think of the announcement from Delta Air Lines on changes to its Sky Club lounges? Will you be affected by the changes when you travel? Share your thoughts by commenting below.