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Delta unveils latest Sky Club overhaul (photos)

The reception desk at Delta's Raleigh-Durham Sky Club. (Image: Delta)

The reception desk at Delta’s Raleigh-Durham Sky Club. (Image: Delta)

Delta this week cut the ribbon on its renovated Sky Club lounge at Raleigh-Durham International Airport, providing more capacity and new tech and food & beverage enhancements.

The airline said the expanded seating in the 5,600-square-foot lounge can now accommodate 140 passengers, using contemporary furnishings from the British manufacturer Boss Design. Guests will now find power plugs and charging stations near every seat, and the Club’s Wi-Fi has been improved with higher speeds.

American Express Platinum and Reserve cardholders get comped access to Delta Sky Clubs. Individual annual membership fees run around $450 depending on your Medallion tier. And single visit passes are available for $59.

The RDU Sky Club — located post-security on Terminal 2’s second level, across from Gate C3 – also features a larger business center, and the free beverages at the lounge’s bar now include local craft beers from Carolina Brewing Company, along with wines, seasonal cocktails and Starbucks coffee and espresso.

Don’t miss: First look at Delta’s nice new Seattle Sky Club

The RDU Sky Club overhaul is just the latest in a series of projects for the airline’s lounges. Early next year, Delta said it expects to unveil an expansion of its Club at Newark Liberty International, with a redesigned bar and additional food options. At New York JFK’s Terminal 4 and Atlanta’s Concourse E, Delta plans to add spa services including seated chair massages with meditation audio/videos and a new line of spa and wellness products.

Here are some more views of the RDU Sky Club, courtesy of Delta:

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See this! Delta’s SECOND largest Sky Club

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Airports: Atlanta’s airport hotel + Speedier Boingo + New Oakland lounge + more

Rendering of the hotel planned for Atlanta's airport. (Image: Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson Airport)

Rendering of the hotel planned for Atlanta’s airport. (Image: Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson Airport)

In airport news, Atlanta officials have reportedly selected a brand for their new airport hotel; Boingo boosts Wi-Fi speeds at a number of U.S. airports; a new passenger lounge is coming to Oakland Airport; Chicago airports now offered reserved parking spaces; and Tampa adds a huge number of charging outlets for travelers.

The new hotel planned for construction near Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson’s domestic terminal is expected to be an InterContinental, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The 300-room high-end hotel is envisioned to be part of a $600 million “Airport City” project that will include commercial space, retail outlets and a travel plaza, and perhaps even residential space. The newspaper reported that renowned Atlanta architect John Portman will design the hotel, which will have meeting rooms, a restaurant, lobby bar and grill and other amenities. It is expected to be built within three years.

Boingo, the leading airport Wi-Fi provider, said that its paid subscribers can now select from options that will give them speeds of up to 20 Mbps at seven major airports, with more coming soon. The highest-speed airports include Baltimore/Washington, Boston Logan, Chicago Midway, Chicago O’Hare, New York JFK, New York LaGuardia and Newark. The company said all travelers can now get free Wi-Fi, and “power users” can select from a number of paid options, including speeds of 20 Mbps, bursting to 50 Mbps. “All Boingo subscribers, including those enrolled in the American Express Preferred Plan, will automatically receive the highest tier of speed when they log in,” Boingo said.

Oakland International Airport said that the U.S. subsidiary of U.K.-based MAG will develop a new passenger lounge at OAK that should open in June 2016. The 2,600 square foot Escape Lounge will be open to all passengers for a per-use fee, offering free food and beverages, Wi-Fi, and other amenities. Earlier this month, MAG opened its first U.S. airport Escape Lounge at Minneapolis-St. Paul International.

Chicago’s O’Hare and Midway airports this month introduced a new option of reserved parking spaces close to the passenger terminals. The reservation fee is $10 per space, per day (plus parking charges, taxes and fees). All spaces are inside the garages, and are guaranteed even when the facility is full. Parking spaces can be booked at https://ord.clickandpark.com/ for O’Hare or at https://mdw.clickandpark.com/ for Midway.

Tampa International Airport next year will make life easier for power-hungry business travelers and their devices. The airport is planning to install thousands of power outlets and USB ports for passengers — 4,683 of them, to be exact. Some will be at 299 new work stations the airport will install; the rest will be on towers wedged between seat rows at gate areas. Currently the airport only offers 237 outlets at work stations scattered around the terminal.

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about:  Delta free upgrades disappearing + Shipping vs. checking a bag +_San Francisco’s new long-haul routes + Is Newark our worst airport? + Delta, United forge new international partnerships

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