After opening four exclusive Delta One business class lounges at big hubs on either coast – and promising more were on the way – the airline is finally making plans in Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP).
Public records from the airport show Delta has zeroed in on a 20,000-square-foot space for one of its signature Delta One lounges on the upper level of the renovated Concourse G – not far from where it opened a stunning new Sky Club three years ago. A subcommittee of the airport’s governing board is set to approve a $1 million study of that space next week to make sure it's adequate and how much it might cost to build.
There’s no timeline for a potential opening nor any details about what may be in store – a Delta representative said the airline had “no further detail to share at this point” beyond reiterating its longstanding plans to open Delta One Lounges in every hub. Realistically, the opening of any new lounge in Minneapolis is likely at least a year or more away.
Check out our reviews of the JFK and LAX Delta One Lounges!
Sky Clubs are one thing, but Delta One Lounges up the ante with a la carte dining, chic and high-quality design, additional amenities … and incredibly strict entry requirements: You need a business class ticket with Delta or one of its partners like Air France or KLM to get inside. No credit cards, no pricey lounge memberships will do.
Yet as Delta began building out these expensive spaces to close the gap with United and American, it focused on ultra-competitive hubs like New York City (JFK), Los Angeles (LAX), Boston (BOS), and Seattle (SEA). There have been no concrete plans for Minneapolis, Detroit (DTW), Salt Lake City (SLC), or even Atlanta (ATL) – airports where Delta dominates … and thus doesn't need to offer higher-end amenities to poach customers.
CEO Ed Bastian has said all eight hubs will eventually get their own Delta One Lounge. But the airline hasn't laid out a clear timeline for when that might happen.
“We're working on it because I think this market needs a Delta One lounge,” Bastian said at an event in Minneapolis in the fall of 2024.
The airline opened an exclusive Delta One check-in area in Minneapolis earlier this year, alongside its other hubs. Delta also has a stellar new Minneapolis Sky Club, which travelers (including yours truly) love. But that lounge lacks some of the extra-special amenities that set Delta One Lounges apart, like a sit-down restaurant and shower suites.
The space Delta and the airport have pinpointed is perched above Terminal 1's customs and border protection processing area in Concourse G. The airport is embarking on yet another drastic expansion of that concourse as we speak.
Bottom Line
We don't know when, but we might know where: A Delta One Lounge could officially be in the works for business class passengers flying out of Minneapolis.
That said, a word of warning: This is an early step. Don't expect to waltz into a Delta One lounge before a flight to London-Heathrow (LHR) or Tokyo-Haneda (HND) anytime soon.
Thanks to reader Jonathan Kealing for flagging this news!
