7 customer-friendly innovations at Delta's newest and largest Sky Club that could become the norm
In case you missed it, Delta, along with Salt Lake City airport authorities, opened a brand-new terminal on Tuesday.
The new 4 million square foot terminal represents a massive transformation for flyers passing through SLC. Expect wide hallways, plenty of restrooms, top-notch retailers, 50-foot-high floor-to-ceiling windows and more. Tuesday's grand opening marks the first phase of a multi-year project aimed at modernizing the nearly 50-year-old facility.
Delta flyers will be the first to enjoy the new facility since the Atlanta-based carrier will exclusively use the new gates. As part of the project, the airline also opened a brand new, 28,000 square-foot Sky Club.
We've already posted an exclusive first look at the new lounge, so let's now take a closer look at some of the new innovations that Delta employed at this new outpost that we hope keep spreading.
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Self-check-in kiosks
Delta's at the forefront of anti-coronavirus measures with its so-called CareStandard pledge. That promise covers the end-to-end travel journey, including the Sky Club lounges.
And when you enter the SLC lounge for the first time, you'll notice that there aren't just two receptionists waiting to greet you behind plexiglass. There are also four self-check-in kiosks that allow you to scan your boarding pass for automated, touchless entry to the lounge.
Adding touchless entry kiosks doesn't just help reduce touchpoints during a pandemic. With SLC being Delta's busiest western hub, there are thousands of flyers passing through the Sky Club every day.
By automating entry, the carrier is also reducing the number of people queuing to enter.
Related: 5 things airport lounges need to do to stop overcrowding
A digitalized shower queue
Back when long-haul international travel was a "thing," you'd often find long lines for a pre- or post-flight shower in the airport lounge.
In most cases, you'd need to visit a receptionist or shower attendant and get added to a standby list. You'd then receive a pager or a get called on the intercom when the shower was clean.
Delta has a solution to modernize this queuing experience. When the showers open at the SLC club, there will be a digital kiosk that you can use to sign up for a shower (and get in line for personalized reservation assistance during irregular operations). You'll then receive a text message once the shower is clean and available.
The kiosk first debuted in Detroit, and guests love it, said Claude Roussel, managing director of Sky Clubs. And fortunately, "we're planning to install it other lounges," Roussel added.
Phone booths
Have you ever wanted to have a sensitive phone conversation in an airport lounge?
Well, unless you're visiting during an off-peak time, odds are that your seating neighbors overhead what you were saying.
In the Salt Lake City outpost, Delta has a solution. The airline installed six individual Framery phone booths, as well as one handicapped accessible booth. These soundproof rooms are the perfect place to catch up with work or friends back home.
Roussel noted that the phone booths are in a pilot phase in Salt Lake. Hopefully, the airline receives positive feedback and adds them network-wide.
Related: Here's what it was like on day 1 at Salt Lake City's spiffy new terminal
Wave-to-enter restrooms
The pandemic has airlines rethinking the number of passenger touchpoints — especially in restrooms.
Though touchless flushing and faucets are widespread, entering and exiting the bathroom still usually requires touching a handle. Unless you're in the Salt Lake City Sky Club.
Both sets of restrooms feature touchless entry and exit. All you need to do is wave your hand by a sensor, and the door automatically opens for you. It's magic for germaphobes and a welcome improvement for everyone during the pandemic.
Related: Another new anti-coronavirus measure from Delta – antimicrobial bins for security checkpoints
Eversys coffee machines
Delta has installed what I'd call the Airbus A350 of coffee machines in the new SLC lounge.
The Eversys coffee machines are sleek, modern, easy-to-use and futuristic — just like Delta's flagship Airbus A350.
Each machine has two operating spouts, allowing two guests to dispense coffee at the same time. Furthermore, if one side breaks, the other will remain operational. And finally, the machine is connected to the internet. When beans are running low or a part needs fixing, lounge attendants will receive a push notification — and address it immediately.
Locally inspired art
Over the past few years, Delta has opened new lounges in Austin, New Orleans and Phoenix. One similarity across these new Sky Clubs is the tastefully curated artwork adorning the walls.
As you might expect, Delta has upped the ante in its latest club now open at SLC.
There are multiple unique installations that exude a sense of calm amidst the otherwise crowded terminal. Many of the pieces are designed by locally renowned artists. By investing in a regionally inspired art program, Delta's Sky Clubs begin to look less like airport lounges and more like hotel lobbies.
The cool new workstations
Delta clearly seems to be listening to customer feedback. (So if you've received a post-flight survey, be sure to answer it.)
When the carrier opened a new Sky Club in Seattle, it tested out a new seating concept — a souped-up version of the college lecture desk.
These workstations feature a sliding desk, footrest, storage area, lamp and power outlets. According to Roussel, the airline received overwhelmingly positive feedback, and that's why they've been installed in the new SLC lounge.
Bottom line
Though we're in the midst of a pandemic, Delta is chugging along with its multiple airport redevelopment projects.
The newest terminal to open in Salt Lake City features a massive, flagship Sky Club that's sure to be a hit with the carrier's premium flyers.
As the airline continues building new lounges and renovating existing ones, hopefully, all of the innovations that Delta included in SLC make their way across the network.
All images by Zach Griff/The Points Guy
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