Delta tests ditching customer service desks at 2 Sky Clubs

The next time you need assistance in a Delta Sky Club, you may have to wait in the same line as everyone else.

That's because the Atlanta-based carrier is eliminating the customer service desks at two of its newest Sky Clubs as of March 25. This change will begin Monday at Delta's lounges at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and New York's LaGuardia Airport (LGA).

The move was first communicated to employees in an internal memo obtained by TPG and later confirmed by a carrier spokesperson.

Delta says in the memo that this is a "temporary pilot" that's designed to "test" ways to add more seating to Sky Clubs while making the most of limited airport real estate. When the pilot is over, the carrier plans to review the results and determine whether to expand this initiative to more clubs.

Without the customer service desks, Delta will equip its Sky Club customer service agents with mobile devices to help with rebookings when roaming around the club.

These Sky Club employees, or "ambassadors" as the airline calls them, will also promote self-service tools, such as the Fly Delta mobile app and the messaging feature that connects you to a remote call center representative. (Delta says that new capabilities that it believes will improve the user experience for managing flight changes during irregular operations are coming to the airline's app in May.)

In a statement shared with TPG confirming the pilot, Delta said that "to take full advantage of Delta's digital tools and help scale servicing capabilities, Delta Sky Club is piloting a mobile-forward servicing model in the LAX Terminal 3 and LaGuardia locations. Guests of those Clubs will continue to receive the hospitality and attentive service they've come to expect during their visit."

This move no doubt stings for anyone who has experienced irregular operations during their travels. Sky Club agents have typically been among the best in the business to help with rebookings, and without them being behind a computer, travelers may need to either call or message customer service agents or visit "Need Help" centers in the terminal.

These alternative customer service options may not be as helpful at reaccommodating passengers on other flights. For instance, I've always found that club representatives are typically more knowledgeable about rebooking on interline partners, such as Air Canada and United Airlines.

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Delta explains that it chose the LAX and LGA locations for the pilot because they are geographically distinct markets with a different mix of domestic and international flights. Both lounges already have overcrowding issues, and they feature stand-alone customer service desks that can be easily removed for this test.

Of course, we'll have to wait and see how Delta's test goes, but this might be a harbinger of what's to come to the Sky Club experience in the coming years.

In fact, Delta wouldn't become the first airline to eliminate the customer service desk in its clubs. Many of United's newest lounges don't have them, but at least the Chicago-based carrier offers what it calls an "agent-on-demand" service that allows you to connect by video, audio or text messaging with an agent who is stationed at a computer that's at or near the airport for assistance with any day-of-travel issues that arise.

American Airlines continues to offer customer service desks at its Admirals Clubs.

Historically, when things go wrong with your travel journey, going into the club to get help has been a good way to avoid the line for the customer service desk in the main terminal and to also ensure that a well-trained agent will help solve your issue.

We'll likely see Delta maintain this high-touch customer service approach when it opens business-class-only lounges in the coming months, but for everyone else, the Sky Club may be about to lose one of its key benefits.

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