We all know that airline lounges can get very crowded, especially during peak times. Recently, American Express instituted several changes to help reduce overcrowding, and now Delta is following in those footsteps by implementing several new policies.
New Access Rules
A few years ago, all of the major U.S. carriers with lounges changed how customers could access individual airline lounges — namely, customers needed to be flying the carrier or that alliance to gain access, preventing customers from other airlines from using a club membership of another airline.
Now Delta is implementing 1 new change, similar to what their partner American Express uses with its Centurion Lounges around the world.
You’ll only be able to access the Sky Club within 3 hours of departure. You won’t be able to show up excessively early for your flight, though this could impact customers in major cities where there are limited flights to their destination. If they get out of work early, or have a reason to head to the airport early, they’ll be forced to wait until the 3 hour mark.
Will these changes actually reduce overcrowding?
While American Express implemented these exact changes over the past few years, they took it one step further to limit complimentary guests. Delta has actually already done this for several years thanks to multiple membership levels to access the Sky Club, so it’s only a matter of time before we see if these changes truly do reduce overcrowding, though it certainly will be an inconvenience to travelers who can’t arrive early to the airport.
Bottom Line
While Delta implements these changes, it’s only a matter of time before the same changes inevitably make their way to American Airlines, United Airlines and Alaska. Airline lounges have become incredibly crowded over the past few years so any effort to reduce crowding is welcome.