Delta to open Boston Delta One Lounge with unique dining flair

Delta Air Lines is doubling down on its premium digs at Boston Logan International Airport (BOS), where the carrier is set to open its third Delta One business-class lounge Wednesday.

The airline offered a sneak peek Monday, and — of course — TPG was there for a look.

Delta positions itself as America's most premium airline, but it fell well behind the competition when it came to lounges for passengers flying in its swankiest cabins. While United Airlines rolled out its Polaris lounges and American Airlines opened its Flagship lounges, Delta continued to send its Delta One business-class passengers to its standard-issue (and often overcrowded) Sky Clubs.

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But Delta is quickly catching up to its peers.

The airline opened its first business-class-only lounge earlier this summer at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), followed quickly by an installation inside Terminal 3 at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) in October.

More lounges are coming, Delta says. In an interview with TPG, Claude Roussel, Delta's head of lounges, said that the fourth Delta One Lounge will open in Seattle, likely in the latter part of the second quarter next year. Meanwhile, Roussel confirmed that the airline plans to open a Delta One Lounge at its home hub of Atlanta, although plans have not been finalized and the lounge is still a few years away.

The JFK and LAX lounges stand out as among the best offerings in the U.S., and a solid step beyond what you'll find at even the best Sky Clubs in Delta's network.

For the third outpost, Delta built a space that attempts to measure up to the New York and Los Angeles lounges while also standing out as its own unique experience, leaning into its location with a particular local spin.

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The Boston Delta One Lounge

In essence, the only people who can access Delta One lounges are those who are flying in business class with Delta or one of its SkyTeam alliance codeshare partners. That means that there's no entry for credit card holders or elite members. The only exception is Delta 360 members — an invitation-only status level above Diamond Medallion.

Like with the other Delta One lounges, access is available to:

• Passengers traveling on a same-day departing, connecting or arriving Delta One flight
• Delta 360 members traveling to any destination on a same-day departing, connecting or arriving first-class ticket
• Passengers traveling on a same-day departing or connecting flight operated by one of Delta's select partners in their respective first- or business-class cabins: Air France La Premiere and business class (long-haul), LATAM premium business class, KLM business class, Korean Air first class and Prestige Class, and Virgin Atlantic Upper Class

The experience of accessing the lounge will be different in Boston than in the first two lounges. While there's a dedicated check-in desk, there won't be a separate check-in area, just given the nature of the layout at Boston's Terminal E.

Passengers head through security and follow the signs to the Delta Sky Club, which the airline opened in 2023.

To get to the Delta One Lounge, check in at the main Sky Club reception, where you'll be directed to the very back of the lounge.

There, you'll find the entrance to the more exclusive lounge.

Layout and design

The Delta One Lounge at Boston is a "lounge within a lounge" concept, rather than an entirely separate space.

As you enter the Delta One Lounge, the ambience is certainly different, with a darker, more intimate vibe, although the overall aesthetic is an organic continuation of the broader Sky Club, with nautical elements to create a subtle thematic undercurrent throughout the lounge.

Like the main lounge, the space is broadly shaped like a luxurious ship's cabin, long and slightly narrow. Other touches include brass accents throughout, including at the long, ship-shaped bar and a railing that runs along the length of the lounge.

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The lounge consists of a variety of dining tables, ranging from two-tops to a few longer eight-seaters, with a large circular bar and kitchen area in the center with bar seats all around.

The open kitchen is where every order will be cooked and stands out as a unique and elevated touch.

Something else that stands out immediately is that while the attached Sky Club is huge, measuring 21,000 square feet with seating for 400, the Delta One Lounge is actually a fairly small space at 6,700 square feet, with seats for just 121 passengers at a time.

That's partly a reflection of Boston's status at Delta. While it's a key hub and a crucial point-to-point city in the airport's network, its long-haul business class presence is smaller than at most of its other international gateways.

Because of that, combined with the space Delta had to design the two lounges, the airline opted for the "lounge within a lounge" instead of building an entirely separate space. The Delta One Lounge will be primarily a top-tier dining room and bar, rather than a combination living room/office/spa/shower space, Roussel, Delta's head of lounges, told TPG.

"We've put a lot of emphasis on the food and beverages here, and a lot of focus on the quality of the ingredients and the quality of the service," Roussel said.

The dining room emphasizes a sit-down, elevated dining experience, Roussel said, noting that most of the long-haul flights from the Boston area are actually fairly short red-eyes across the Atlantic, only seven or eight hours long. That means passengers generally prefer to eat before the flight. The Delta One lounge is designed to offer a three-course meal in as little as an hour, allowing passengers to go right to sleep once their flight departs.

"Because the flights are going to be short from here," Roussel said, "it's important to us that the dining experience really hits on all cylinders."

The back part of the Sky Club, which currently has a variety of seating along with a few soundproof phone booths, will be converted into a "living room" exclusively for Delta One passengers, Roussel said.

"You have an incredible lounge on the other side, and this dedicated dining lounge here," he said.

With the focus on dining, there aren't really any exclusive amenities for Delta One Lounge visitors. The lounge has its own bathrooms, but shower suites are shared with the Sky Club, and there are no special spa services.

Fortunately, since the Terminal E Sky Club opened last year, it's rarely been especially crowded, so there should be plenty of room available in the restrooms.

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Dining and drinking

Like at JFK and LAX, Delta One passengers in Boston can expect a full a la carte and made-to-order dining experience, as opposed to the buffet in Sky Clubs.

Sticking with the local flair, the menu in Boston, which was crafted by celebrated chef Ed Brown, leans toward seafood, though there are plenty of other options as well.

The Delta One Lounge opens later in the day than the Sky Club — at 2 p.m., ahead of the first long-haul red-eye Delta departures of the day — so the menu is geared for dinner.

During Monday's preview, a set menu offered a preview of specific dishes and a general sense of what will be available in the lounge.

A "loaded seafood chowder" is maybe the most direct example of local flavor, and it delivers. Perfectly salty and creamy with fresh pepper ground on top, while loaded with clam, oyster and lobster, it's as fine of an example of the New England classic as you'll find anywhere. In the view of this Boston resident, it was virtually perfect.

Similarly, a lobster roll offers an excellent example of a quintessential New England dish, with a buttery roll and perfectly cooked lobster.

The real differentiator is that everything is cooked to order in that visible kitchen that adjoins the bar area. Passengers seated at the bar will see their food being prepared and cooked on a skillet, a remarkable feature considering the variety of challenges involved with operating even the simplest of kitchens within an airport — restrictions on knives and open flames, ventilation requirements and more.

Octopus carpaccio was one of the more unusual dishes, but it absolutely worked and was stellar, while the lumache pasta dish was a simpler but equally well-prepared feature.

The seared fish a la plancha will be a rotating catch of the day — during the tasting, it was a Maine halibut, perfectly cooked right in front of us.

Dessert includes a Boston cream pie and cannoli, two Boston mainstays, along with a few other options.

The menu will likely rotate a few times a year, Delta executives said, and dishes can be modified to a degree, since everything is made to order.

There's a long list of complimentary drinks available, all of which are generally a step up from the included beverages at the Sky Club. Bartenders can make pretty much anything alongside listed cocktail specials, with a wide variety of spirits that includes 10 types of scotch and whisky.

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There's also a list of top-shelf spirits and premium wines available for an additional cost, something that has been controversial at the first two lounges. It's worth noting that this drinks list includes things like half-bottles of Taittinger Champagne and glasses of Macallan 18 scotch, which are typically considered especially high-end.

Bottom line

Delta is taking a bespoke approach to its Delta One lounges, designing each one specifically around the location, available space, and even the network and routes available from particular airports.

In Boston, the lounge will focus on exclusive dining for business-class passengers ahead of short red-eyes across the Atlantic, letting passengers enjoy a five-star meal before going right to sleep on the plane.

If the preview Monday proves reflective of the ongoing quality of the food, Boston-based Delta flyers have something to be quite excited about.

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• How to survive basic economy on Delta Air Lines