Delta One Lounge At JFK Makes Guests Check Bags Before Dinner — Then Asks Them To Tip In SkyMiles

Strange things are afoot in the Delta One business class lounge at New York JFK. A passenger reports that no bags are allowed now in the dining room area, and also that they’re being solicited to tip – which they did, in SkyMiles, but they were uncomfortable with it.

Delta One JFK lounge was weird today. They have a no bags allowed policy now, so they checked my luggage with a bag tag before going into the restaurant because they said there was a “very serious incident” that happened recently that they can’t have happen again. Does anyone know what happened with a bag? Was someone trafficking an exotic animal or child or something?

They also hand you a tip screen now if you use miles to upgrade anything which was kinda uncomfortable for me. It’s new they’ve never had it before. He was staring point blank at the tip screen so I tipped 2,500 miles and then felt kinda weird about it?

There are two separate and really interesting issues here.

It Sounds Like Someone Lost A Knife – A Real Security Problem

Delta hasn’t offered a public explanation for the practice of requiring bags to be left outside the dining area, and small bags do seem allowed. It could be a crowding issue. But a lot of speculation focuses on a missing knife.

Port Authority rules are fairly standard in not permitting “knives of any kind, including steak knives and pocketknives” post-security, except for rounded-blade butter knives and plastic knives for restaurant employees and passengers. There are frequently knives in the kitchen, but those are tightly controlled. There are regular audits, and my understanding is that kitchens are required to do a knife-by-knife reconciliation procedure.

Of course it could just be that the lounge gets completely slammed and they’re trying to keep it possible to move around inside the restaurant.

Tipping In The Business Class Lounge Is Terrible Practice

Delta One lounge wine, champagne and spirit selection is very weak. Anything decent requires a paid upgrade. And Delta accepts miles as payment.

If you buy up, you sign a payment slip and are asked to tip, in cash or again in miles. If you drink the free stuff, some people still tip but there’s no prompt to do so. Pay for something better and the dynamic changes.

• Many passengers feel that lounge tipping is absurd because the service is already part of an expensive premium product. And tipping 2,500 miles “insane” unless of course you don’t even value SkyMiles at close to a penny apiece.

• Airlines and other merchants should just pay their staff and charge an all-in price, rather than outsourcing wages to customers to pay. It’s awkward and uncertain for everyone.

• Other passengers just go with it and throw down a few bucks per drink, $5 – $10 for a sit-down meal, or more for a large group. It’s a ‘real restaurant’ and they’d be tipping there (although here they’ve ‘prepaid’).

• But even if you’re ok with tips, surely the solicitation is tacky.

People are also confused tipping in miles, because one bartender was going around telling people that the airline keeps the tips paid in miles. This simply is not true. But the airline doesn’t disclose the conersion math, even if it’s assumed to be a penny per point. Generally, also, it’s third party contractors and not Delta employees being tipped.

Delta markets the Delta One lounge as “world-class dining,” “elevated service,” and a best-in-class premium ground experience tied to same-day Delta long haul business class travel. The idea that labor cost isn’t bundled with that is absurd. But if passengers pick up the bill for staff, the on-site contractor can pay people less, and in turn charge Delta less.

Most airlines don’t allow tipping in the cabin. Flight attendants aren’t supposed to accept them on Delta. And lounge staff aren’t supposed to solicit them, yet isn’t this ostensibly an extension of the cabin for business class passengers? That’s the principle American Airlines laid out for its Flagship First Dining.

Tipping degrades the experience. It makes premium service feel cheaper and more transactional.It introduces awkwardness, pressure, and status games. Some passengers overtip, some never tip, staff obviously notice, and suddenly a supposedly seamless premium environment feels like a series of hoops to jump through.

Venmo tipping cards, shower tip jars, and miles tip screens are not luxury.