Exploring the Delta One Lounge at JFK: An In-Depth Review

Delta Air Lines has been dealing with overcrowding at its Sky Club lounges for years. Part of the reason is that Delta historically has not offered separate lounges for its business class passengers. United, for example, has had separate Polaris lounges for business class customers since 2016.

Now, Delta finally has a comparable product: the Delta One Lounge, which is accessible only to business class passengers and uber-elite flyers.

The first one opened in June 2024 in New York (JFK), followed by a location at Los Angeles (LAX). More are planned soon at Boston (BOS), Salt Lake City (SLC), and Seattle (SEA).

Upgraded Points had a first look at the Delta One Lounge at JFK just before it opened to the public, and we were impressed by the 39,000-square-foot space. But how would the lounge fare in the middle of an afternoon rush, with hundreds of business class passengers all looking for a space to relax before their flight?

I tried the Delta One Lounge on a busy weekend in late October 2024. Here’s what I found and what you can expect on your visit.

Gaining Access to Delta One Lounges

First off, keep in mind that admittance to the Delta One Lounge is more restrictive than for Delta Sky Clubs.

Access to Delta One Lounges is limited to:

• Passengers with tickets in Delta One business class, departing or arriving on the same day
• Passengers with the invitation-only Delta 360° status departing or arriving on the same day in Delta first class
• Passengers on same-day departing or connecting flights operated by some Delta partners in their business class cabins or first class if they have it: Air France, LATAM, KLM, Korean Air, and Virgin Atlantic

No guests are allowed except for Delta 360° members. They can bring a spouse or domestic partner and children under 21, or up to 2 companions, but they have to pay $100 per person. Companion guests must be flying on a same-day, Delta-operated flight.

Passengers who can enter Delta Sky Clubs as a benefit of a credit card can’t get into Delta One Lounges.

I accessed the lounge as a passenger in Virgin Atlantic’s Upper Class; I was headed to London on the first leg of a trip to India.

Location of the Delta One Lounge at JFK

As a passenger in Delta One business class — or in my case, Upper Class on Virgin — the experience at JFK was significantly different from regular check-in and security. That began from the moment I entered the airport.

At Terminal 4, where all Delta flights from JFK depart, there was now a separate entrance marked Delta One, leading to a dedicated check-in area. I found it at the end of the terminal on the right as I entered. I showed my ticket and was past the doors and walking down a separate hallway leading to an airy space where I could check in or drop off bags.

On a Saturday at 5 p.m., in the middle of the big rush of evening departures to Europe, I had the place almost to myself while the rest of the terminal bustled with passengers.

I had already checked in using the Virgin Atlantic app, so all I had to do was drop off my bag. It was tagged quickly to my final destination, Bangalore (BLR), and I was off to explore the space in the light of a beautiful fall afternoon.

Had I felt a sudden need for caffeine, hydration, or a snack before going through security, 2 friendly attendants were ready at their station, while Delta staff at a desk nearby could help me with any issues related to my flight. I was just a few minutes in, and the Delta One space had already set the tone for the notably pleasant airport experience that would follow.

And that’s before I was wowed by an absolute first for me at any New York airport: my own security lane.

The Delta One area fed into its own ID and security checkpoint, which I found completely empty.

Even JFK’s notoriously gruff TSA screeners had morphed into nice people who smiled and chatted amiably. After all, they had no one else to deal with but me.

Because I had TSA PreCheck, I was given a slip of paper that entitled me to keep my shoes on, and I was through in a breeze. This qualified, no doubt, as my nicest experience with airport security by far.

First Impressions

Immediately after security, clear signage directed me to the Delta One Lounge, just steps away on the same level.

I could have proceeded to either of the Delta Sky Clubs or to 2 other attractive options. With my boarding pass for Virgin Atlantic Upper Class, I had access to the excellent Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse; and as a holder of the Chase Sapphire Reserve^®, I could have gone to the Chase Sapphire Lounge.

There was no mistaking the entrance to the Delta One Lounge and no wait to enter. After a quick check of my boarding pass, I was waved into a beautiful lobby with marble floors. The first impression was in keeping with the coverage I had been reading: This was a cut above the Sky Club, and you could tell from the jump.

The entrance set the tone for the rest of the lounge’s decor, clearly inspired by midcentury modern design.

Inside the Delta One Lounge

Beyond the lobby, I found a living room-like space anchored on one side by a fireplace and a large, and thankfully muted, TV screen. Facing it, a big bar functioned as a point of attraction.

With many flights to Europe about to start boarding, the main space of the lounge was crowded — but not so much that one could not find a seat.

The high ratio of staff to guests stood out. Plates and glasses were removed quickly by friendly attendants who moved fast and efficiently.

I used the bar’s central location — No. 3 in the map below — as a reference point to explore the sprawling lounge.

South-facing full-length windows let plenty of light in.

To the left of the bar, a quiet area had soundproof phone pods and space for people who wished to work.

Leaving the main area behind, I found a large space that looked like an upscale diner dedicated to the buffet.

Proceeding after the buffet, I encountered the area called a business lounge, with more phone pods and a large table. I didn’t see many people looking like they were working, but it was a Saturday afternoon.

Following the signs for the showers and wellness area, I found a wall with an eclectic display of art, seemingly meant to indicate a break between the lively and the quieter parts of the lounge. After this point, noise levels dropped.

This section of the lounge felt more like a living room, with plush carpeting that helped muffle sound.

Next to a drinks station was more seating.

The wellness area offered services from showers to massage, which I’ll cover later.

However, the relaxation routine I was after involved watching airplanes. For that, the Delta One Lounge may not rival the elevated outlook on the runways from the Sky Club at Concourse B, but it did me all right.

Most of its length overlooked directly the gates at Terminal 4, and I still got a good view through floor-to-ceiling windows of the many Delta jets parked there. A covered terrace offered a good vantage point and may be uncovered on warm days.

Food and Beverages

Free food and drinks are a big draw of any airport lounge, and doubly so for a high-end one. The Delta One Lounge delivered on this front.

If you want to follow Anthony Bourdain’s advice and skip airplane food, this would be a great place to eat and drink well before boarding a long flight.

I had 3 options for doing that: the bar at the center of the lounge, the buffet, or the restaurant next to it.

Bar

Though the further reaches of the lounge were quiet, the bar was buzzing. This was the only part of the lounge I found loud, but that was largely because of a particular group of guests. Without their tipsy, high-decibel hoots, the hum of many simultaneous conversations would not have been annoying.

Drinking a Bloody Mary made by bartender Zach, who offered me a choice of Tito’s or Grey Goose vodka, I had fun for a while overhearing snippets of conversation from people who clearly were, on average, pretty well-traveled. (“So, that time in Zermatt ….”)

That was a big plus of the Delta One Lounge for me: Like the lobby of a nice hotel in a big city, its bar felt like a crossroads of stories, all coming together for a brief moment. The rest of the space certainly offered an upscale airport lounge experience, but the bar was what truly reminded me of the sheer joy of traveling in style.

Hot Tip:

Like other airport lounges, the Delta One Lounge offers free food and drinks. However, it is good form to tip bartenders and servers at the lounge restaurant. Be sure to carry small bills when you visit since cash tips are often preferred.

Like the bars in Sky Clubs, this one lets you pay for the fancier drinks in dollars or Delta SkyMiles at exactly 1 cent per mile. For example, a bottle of Laurent-Perrier Grand Siècle Champagne went for $280 or 28,000 miles. We advise sticking with cash: Based on our points valuation of SkyMiles, 1 cent per mile would be a poor value for your SkyMiles.

Several self-serve drink carts with wine and Champagne were throughout the lounge. Passengers in need of a drink would not have had to go very far to find it. Coffee machines, water, and soft-drink dispensers were similarly plentiful and easy to find and operate.

Buffet

The buffet’s name, “Market & Bakery,” may have been a little misleading; It wasn’t an actual market since you were not buying the complimentary food and drinks. Unlike the standard buffet at Sky Clubs, the food was already plated and served by staffers behind the counter.

The section under the “Market” sign had savory plates, while the bakery served sweets. Menus and labels indicated clearly what was on offer.

I ended up eating at the Brasserie, the lounge’s sit-down restaurant, but I could have had a perfectly good dinner here.

Vegetarian and vegan passengers had plenty to choose from, like edamame and crispy wonton salads, autumn harvest bowls, and vegetarian lasagna. Other buffet meals included chicken schnitzel and roast salmon with gremolata. Preplated snacks included charcuterie plates and cheese plates.

There were desserts on offer, too, such as chocolate mousse, tiramisu, and Key lime pie.

Brasserie

I could imagine the restaurant, known as the Brasserie, having a wait on really busy days, but when I visited, getting in was a breeze.

The hostess entered my phone number on her tablet and then greeted me by name: “Hello, Alberto!” Did the number bring up my Delta account, I asked? No, she replied, it was my account on Resy.

Resy is the restaurant reservation platform owned by American Express, which issues Delta’s co-branded credit cards and has a close relationship with the airline. A Resy survey popped up in my email a few days later.

The Brasserie featured the same decor and lighting as the rest of the lounge.

The place did have the ambiance to credibly call itself a brasserie after the Parisian model, but with far friendlier American waitstaff. The menu, centered around classic brasserie basics like steak frites and scallops, was not especially creative, but it was pleasantly compact. Who wants to scan page after page when there’s a flight to catch?

I ordered the agnolotti pasta with short rib filling, followed by potato and leek soup.

Both dishes came quickly and were presented beautifully. Both were perfectly acceptable, if not outstanding.

I had nothing to complain about, however. Outside the lounge, at a comparable restaurant in Terminal 4, I could easily have dropped $50 for a similar dinner. Here, all it cost me was a tip for the server.

As I made conversation with the 2 couples at the next table, we agreed that we were having a much better time than we would have had at one of the regular Delta Sky Clubs.

“This is the nicest lounge!” one of them said, while another — a gentleman of a certain age — reminisced about the bar on the upper deck of Boeing 747s, in the early days of jet travel. The lounge, he said, was a pleasant throwback to those times.

Amenities

Wellness services could be booked using a QR code displayed on mounted tablets. Services included massage chairs, relaxation pods, showers, a shoeshine, and wellness treatments.

The wellness treatment included the services of massage therapists who could provide complimentary services such as facials and hand massages. 

I could have had my clothes steamed while I showered, too. (If you intend to use a shower, keep in mind that the 8 shower stalls go on a first-come, first-served basis.)

If you needed to change a diaper, changing tables were plentiful, too.

Bathrooms were at both ends of the lounge and were spotless.

Wi-Fi

Throughout my 2.5-hour stay in the lounge, I had consistent, fairly strong Wi-Fi with download and upload speeds of 20 Mbps. There were many outlets to keep my phone powered, including at the booths in the restaurant.

Your Airplane Seat May Not Be as Good as the One in the Delta One Lounge

My new friends at the restaurant were going to Venice to celebrate a birthday, and the Delta One Lounge was providing them with a grand beginning to their adventure.

But then one of their group looked at her Delta app and observed that they were going to fly on a Boeing 767-300. I did not have the heart to tell them that they were in for a letdown; the 300 series of the venerable 767 has arguably the worst business class seat among all Delta long-haul jets. It pales in comparison to the Delta One Suites on more recent aircraft and does not hold a candle to the Polaris seat aboard United’s identical 767s. The same problem applies to the Airbus A330-300s Delta sends to many European destinations from JFK and to the Boeing 757s found on routes to the West Coast. Both have business seats well behind the times.

That discrepancy is bound to irk some customers. Delta has a world-class product with the Delta One Lounge but then puts its most lucrative passengers aboard airplanes with a business cabin that’s nowhere near the same level.

Delta is introducing more A330-900s and A350-900s with the excellent Delta One Suite to JFK, but 767s will still be plying long-haul routes for years to come. Until they are phased out, there’s a chance your onboard experience won’t match the Delta One Lounge.

Still, as I exited using the elevators near the main entrance, I knew I had just been in the best lounge at Terminal 4. The elegantly furnished exit lobby confirmed my impression that the Delta One Lounge was, finally, Delta’s answer to United Polaris lounges.

Final Thoughts

There are many lounges at JFK’s Terminal 4. Some are very good, but the Delta One Lounge surpasses them all. If you meet the requirements for access, this is the place to be.

The business class seats on some Delta jets may be behind the competition, but on the ground, the airline sets a new standard at the main airport in New York City.

If you have the time, it’s even worth it to go to the airport early to have a bite and get a massage here.