Crowded lounges make airport lounges no longer enjoyable. If they aren’t an escape from the busy terminal, what’s the point? You can use the airline lounge for dedicated reservations agents when your flight delays, but otherwise give it a miss. And when there’s a long line to get in too, that’s even worse.
But the Delta Air Lines Sky Club in Atlanta on the T concourse took things to a new level with waits of up to 20 minutes to leave. That means you don’t have have a busy lounge, but you need to plan ahead to cut your visit short in order to make your flight.
You could use any lounge at the airport other than the one closest to your gate and get up to leave later than leaving the one that’s nearest to your flight. That’s insane.
No stair access as it’s only allowed for emergencies. Apparently city won’t let them add another set of stairs or elevator.
Warning customers of 15-20 minutes to GET OUT of Sky Club.
Line to leave T-terminal Sky Club in ATL.
byu/Start_Your_Engines_ indelta
Is this an airline lounge, or the Hotel California? The staircase here is being reserved only for emergencies, it seems, and it’s alarmed. But as one commenter observed, “Missing my flight would qualify as an emergency!” The restriction isn’t just academic, though, since the stairs from this lounge exit onto the ramp rather than directly into the terminal.
Premium Exit…
Seriously, why is Delta investing everywhere except Atlanta, its own headquarters. While I love the new Delta One lounges and experience at JFK and LAX, Delta really should get it together in Atlanta, just out of self-respect for their flagship airport. Or, do they have such a monopoly there, they can treat everyone who passes through like garbage.
They need to empty the 20 minute backlog in 2 minutes by opening the stairs and watching the ramp then locking up.
Less people at the gates and more standby passengers getting flights. What’s not to like (sarcasm)?
Back when the Centurion Lounge IAH opened in Houston in 2016, it was served by 1 elevator, despite their being 2 elevator shafts. The stairs were alarmed the same as the Delta lounge described. I have no idea if this is still the case today. When the elevator went out of service just after the lounge had opened, we were all stuck with no staff willing to open the alarmed door. Quite a throwback for me…
‘ You can use the airline lounge for dedicated reservations agents when your flight delays, but otherwise give it a miss.’
That’s a dumb generalization right there. They are still better than the alternative.
Again the moron MBA types thought it would be really great to expand their credit card by offering lounge membership but not a two second thought about how the clubs will handle the surge in members. Other than tough fecal matter.
ATL airport has always been busy but in the past the employees had common sense and understood customer service. Now days JFK employees are more friendly than ATL.
GA just flipped red They’re probably checking immigration papers on the way out, which causes a backlog.
I was under the impression that DL is phasing out the lounge reservation specialists.
It’s all the people who are ashamed of how their kids’ names appear on the upgrade list at the gate.
The solution is something called “The Terminal”, “avoid the overcrowding and hassles of airport lounges by staying in the terminal, best of all the price is FREE.” Yes, we have reached the point of avoiding airport lounges due to the mismanagement of capacity, making lounges a negative experience.
The moron who okayed a 200+ capacity closed space with 1 non-emergency exit with a capacity of 5 person per minute (or 2 Georgia-sized people) capacity deserves a congressional medal of freedumb
Oh the joy of no longer having to put up with airline lounges in the States. Nice lounge in Malta just above the gates. Choosing inside or out. Reasonable food and drink.
And in Frankfurt, multiple Senator Lounges and Business class lounges. And multiple first class lounges.
In all, treated like a valued customer.
I hate to say it Gary, but the credit card deals with the airlines destroyed the experience. So, why do ff/ credit card customers put up with it? In fact, it was you who keep telling passengers not show up early.
The sky clubs are really mediocre and certainly nothing special. I don’t understand why people chase access to them.
Not super important but noteworthy. Many of these lounges are built in vacant former office spaces in the airports. They were large spaces with offices where a single elevator and one set of emergency stairs were sufficient for the staff working in these areas. Sadly, someone builds a full lounge in this space but doesn’t bother to spend the money for an escalator or external stairs leading directly into the terminal. Building another elevator is too pricey and probably impossible and the emergency stairs were designed to flow out of the building, not transit floor to floor.
Delta, “Going for Great”.
The real question is, why are all those people waiting in queue to get into an already crowded lounge? What a a waste of time. The food options are often picked through and eaten when it is busy anyway. Put on a pair of headphones and wait somewhere else until your boarding time is near. Simple. Just an idea.
Diarrhea Delta does it again. Piss poor service taken to a level below that many thought was impossible.
The last time this Diamond-miler set foot in one of those fetid cesspools called a “lounge” was years ago. They’re overrun with kids, the food quality is only slightly above a homeless soup kitchen, and the staff members are rude.
Now if you g in, prepare to be trapped so you can’t get out and get to your plane. Risible.
Wow. This is the height of ridiculousness. One would think that building codes would prevent this from happening. Why allow anyone to build a lounge where there can’t be smooth incoming and outgoing foot traffic?
I still like the SkyClub at SEA. They suffer from the same overcrowding that happens elsewhere in the system but the main part of the lounge is on the same level as the gates so no elevator or stairs required.
Classic Delta. Make it look nice even if the fundamentals – things like being able to leave the lounge – aren’t at all good.
Good thing they will always have AA (running an airline is hAArd!) to make them look better than they actually are.
Why this is the well deserved premium treatment of Delta’s most discerning customers we hear them pontificate so much about. Way to go Ed!
I’m surprised the fire Marshall doesn’t get involved with regard to capacity vs. expeditious egress. That’s just wrong that one should have to wait even one second to leave a lounge.
As to waits to get into the lounge, those credit card promos have got to go. Lounge membership should be for paid members only, unless it’s a dedicated premium class lounge for Premium Class international travelers
I fly American usually, but they are having the same issues. I have an admirals club membership, I fly 2 or more times per week and I do not think I am going to renew for next year. The last few times I flew, I got into the lounge and there were not even seats and the food is mediocre at best. It does pay for itself if you fly frequently and have a few drinks but the overcrowding has made neither companies lounges worth it
Did the president mouse hands appoint Ted Kazinski (Unabomber) US Fire Marshall?
No fire marshal at ATL?
I was just in Atlanta last week and took the stairs to the lounge so this clearly isn’t all of them. Sounds like they just need to shutter the one…. Or maybe this is their plan so people will do the grab-n-go
The world’s worst lounges in the world’s airport, dominated by the world’s worst airline, that just happens to have a homophobe as CEO.
You can dial 911. EMTs show up and wheel you to the gate.
OR… OR… you can stand in line like the idiots in the picture. 20-25 minutes? Even if the food was good and the drinks were top-shelf and free it’s not worth it.
Easier to whine and take pictures of idiots than use common sense it is.
I very rarely use my lounge access nowadays, even though it comes with most of the premium class tickets I purchase. In a small handful of countries or cities, it’s worth popping in. But, in the vast majority of airports, I’m much happier buying some food and drink from restaurants in the terminal and finding a quiet spot outside of the lounge to wait for my flight.
I hate this lounge and the ridiculous setup. I try to remember to avoid it.
That lounge is always crushed. Just go somewhere else.
But but but … I thought we wanted the free market to dictate customer experience??
Lounge crowding is a result of airlines failure to build larger lounges with better ingress and egress. Unless you have a long layover, time is too precious to waste in a lounge.
@Al LeFeusch: couldn’t agree more! Grab and go lounges might be the best option now especially with faster security lines. Though I use the lounge when I fly Turkish through out of Istanbul.
I hide out in the chapels. They’re usually empty, have wifi, and no one has their bare feet up on the furniture snoring away while their children contaminate the pig trough, I mean the buffett.
@Bubba Smith in a government-owned and managed building but ok
Thought the lounges were less crowded since they have deprived most Amex Skymiles members of access.
So when the elevator door opens you push the red emergency button and you can take the stairs. Difficult concept?
Exactly the same thing repeatedly hapens at YYZ domestic AC lounge.
This is an egress and circulation issue, not because people can gain access through credit cards. It sounds like this stair hasn’t always been closed, and that it has always egressed out to the ramp. It does sound like a legitimate security issue, but likely not to the extent to warrant a blanket closure of a prominent access stair. Odds are someone in the building department was made aware of the issue and they have a stick up their butt or it’s a classic CYA. Regardless, Delta should be able to work with the city to allow general use of the emergency stair with some added security provisions with a short and long term agreement.
Further, this should have always been resolved during plan review before a building permit was issued.
I live in Belgium, but travel internationally, as I’m in a global role. The lounges in the USA just suck nowadays. They are all too crowded, and with the exception of the special ‘elite’ ones, the food sucks. The BA lounge at T5 is also busier than pre-Covid, but I rarely see lines except on very busy days or bad weather delays. On the other hand, those in the rest of Europe, Asia and the Middle East are still very pleasant by comparison.
Lines getting in at Atlanta aren’t great either. Had a very unpleasant woman try to cut in line after we’d been waiting 10 minutes.
Advice to all members of SkyShelters in all airports: Abandon those fetid cesspools of germs and piss-poor service, even if you get free admittance on a DeltaOne ticket. Patronize the local restaurants. You will have much better food and service without snotty-nosed kids running rampant and without the snarky Diarrhea Delta “service” people being rude to you. Let the wannabe status fliers occupy these airport sewers. And the best thing is that you likely won’t contract the E. coli or norovirus bug that has Diarrhea Delta SkyShelter patrons crapping up and down the aisles.