First look: Atlanta’s first new Sky Club since 2016

Credit: Chris Rank

Credit: Chris Rank

The new space by Gate D16 replaces the two existing lounges on the concourse but adds a net of about 300 seats, Claude Roussel, Delta’s VP of Sky Clubs and Lounge Experience, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Three years in the making, the Sky Club features a larger kitchen that can handle more options, like fresh baked pastries, more power outlets at seats and soundproof phone booths, he said.

Credit: Chris Rank

Credit: Chris Rank

The team was able to upgrade the facility in a way they could not with the existing Concourse D lounges because of the old lounges’ size and age, he said. The new lounge’s walls showcase nearly a dozen artists, including Atlanta-based muralist Ryan Coleman and photographer Pam Moxley.

Credit: Chris Rank

Credit: Chris Rank

It also is designed more practically, Roussel said. Bathrooms are immediately visible when you enter. “You can’t be guessing when you get into a lounge of where to go.”

Delta leaders knew years ago they would have to add more lounge seats in D, he said, because the ongoing Concourse D widening project will bring larger planes and more passengers.

Credit: Chris Rank

Credit: Chris Rank

Atlanta, which has the most Sky Clubs of any airport, will this year also see a refresh of its two lounges in Concourse A and its one in Concourse C, he said.

The work, which will be done in phases, will upgrade things like carpets and furniture as well as lobby layout and a larger food buffet in Concourse A. They can’t do a full teardown, he said, because those lounges are just “really, really, really busy.” None of those lounges will close during the work.

Roussel said he hopes the additional seats alleviate crowding that lounges can see at certain times of the day and perhaps draw customers from other nearby concourses.

Credit: Chris Rank

Credit: Chris Rank

In the next few years Delta is also planning to bring one of its business class-only Delta One Lounges to Atlanta too, he confirmed.

The airline hasn’t settled on a location, but “Atlanta is our hometown, and we absolutely want to offer a Delta One product here, and we will,” he said.

There will be more Sky Club growth across the country this year too.

Seattle will gain a new Sky Club and a new Delta One Lounge this summer, Salt Lake City will get a second lounge and Philadelphia’s Sky Club will see an expansion. Denver will also expand in 2026.

Roussel’s top priorities in thinking about expansions, he said, include “making Sky Club a reason to fly Delta,” as well as to better serve Delta customers at airports where the airline’s flight traffic is growing.

“Every single year, we are adding seats to the system as a whole to continue growing our footprint,” he said.

That also means proactively paying attention to the cities where they may need to open a first Sky Club, since the lounges take several years to finish. Roussel declined to provide location specifics this far in advance.