The SkyTeam airline alliance, led by Delta, is clearly the also-ran group. It’s a collection of afterthought airlines like TAROM, Beirut-based Middle East Airlines, and Saudia.
Rather than Asian airlines like Singapore or Cathay Pacific, it’s got Vietnam Airlines. Rather than Ethiopian or South African, it’s got Kenya Airways. And rather than Avianca in South America is has… Aerolineas Argentinas.
Benefits are more limited, too. For instance one of the core benefits of an alliance is that elite members from one member airline are granted access to the lounges of other member airlines. In SkyTeam, though, lounge access for domestic flights was excluded.
- So while United elites often like status on partner airlines like Air Canada or Turkish, because it gives them access to United’s lounges when traveling on United domestically, and American Airlines elites like status on airlines like British Airways for use of Admirals Clubs (and even business class Flagship lounges) when flying within the U.S., elite members of Air France KLM Flying Blue or SAS EuroBonus do not get access to Delta lounges on U.S. domestic flights.
- In fact, SAS EuroBonus Gold members don’t even get access to Air France lounges when flying within France!
However these rules are being loosened somewhat starting April 1.
- Domestic lounge access will be available to SkyTeam Elite Plus members like Delta Gold Medallions. This will “initially be available at selected lounges” with 8 airlines: Air France, China Eastern, Garuda Indonesia, Kenya Airways, KLM, SAS, Saudia, and Vietnam Airlines. However they “plan to gradually widen domestic lounge access to more lounges in the future.”
- However, they are adding a restriction that the Elite Plus member’s lounge guest must be traveling on the same flight as the member. And access will be limited to within 3 hours of departure (a restriction that also extends to first and business class passengers). Passengers connecting between SkyTeam flights will have access for their entire connection.
Here are the participating lounges:
| Airport | Airline | |
| Bordeaux | Air France | |
| Boston | Air France | |
| Geneva | Air France | |
| Houston Intercontinental | Air France | |
| Los Angeles | Air France | |
| New York JFK | Air France | |
| Paris Charles de Gaulle | Air France | |
| Paris Orly | Air France | |
| San Francisco | Air France | |
| Washington Dulles | Air France | |
| Shanghai Hongqiao | China Eastern | |
| Shanghai Pudong | China Eastern | |
| Bali | Garuda Indonesia | |
| Jakarta | Garuda Indonesia | |
| Nairobi | Kenya Airways | |
| Jeddah | Saudia | |
| Riyadh | Saudia | |
| Chicago | Scandinavian | |
| Copenhagen | Scandinavian | |
| Gothenburg | Scandinavian | |
| Newark | Scandinavian | |
| Oslo | Scandinavian | |
| Stockholm Arlanda | Scandinavian | |
| Hanoi | Vietnam Airlines |
Delta will not be honoring lounge access for their own or partner elites traveling on domestic itineraries, so don’t go rushing out looking for an Air France, Vietnam Airlines, or SAS status match thinking it will help circumvent new limits on Sky Club access using a premium Delta credit card.
(HT: Loyalty Lobby)
Just be nice if I could use the SkyClub guest passes for myself.
This change is worthless because with the exception of China Eastern, Garuda, Air France or SAS, there aren’t many Sky Team airlines with significant domestic flights. KLM has no domestic flights, for example.
Meanwhile, Delta also denies Sky Club access to Delta elites traveling internationally on Delta in economy or basic economy but allows Sky Team elites from partner airlines flying economy or basic economy on Delta flights.
The best description of Skyteam I ever saw:
“Skyteam – The BIGLots of airline alliances”
It was perfect. I wish i could remember who came up with it.
“Domestic lounge access will be available to SkyTeam Elite Plus members like Delta Gold Medallions.”
So does this mean if you’re a DL Gold flying LAX-SEA on DL you can use the Bradley AF Lounge?
If so, generous policy relative to the other alliances, but the US lounges will start to look a lot like Sky Lounges in terms of crowds and wait times.
Some of these SkyTeam airlines were already providing me lounge access for domestic flights as an ElitePlus.
I don’t see myself gaining much from these SkyTeam lounge access changes. I see myself losing out in the aggregate from these changes. The 3 hours before departure rule for access is actually a worsening of access more relevant to me than the other changes, since there are times when I get to the airport 4 hours before scheduled departure and am airside with 3.8 hours or even more until departure. And then there are other times where the 3 hours before departure rule will mean no more than 1-2 hours of lounge access (even if checking in 3 hours before departure) because of exit passport control, security checks, lounge location, early gate closure and so on.
@Darin, sounds like it. But, the *new* Air France lounge is in the mid-field concourse. A walk from there to T2 will take 20 minutes. That’s worse than using the Amex lounge in the TBIT entry area and walking to Alaska in T6.
@Darin: I don’t think so, though if this loophole exists it would restore the benefit as it was before 2017 or 2018 ish. Before that time, a Sky Club member could access the handful of Air France or KLM lounges in Canada and the USA even on a domestic Delta ticket. At Dulles, it was great. Houston not so much because of (a) the poor quality of the Air France and KLM lounges and (b) their location. Meanwhile, at Toronto it wasn’t possible because the USA flights are from a different terminal.