DeltaOne at LAX –
A friend of mine and a fellow travel enthusiastic, Colin recently experienced Delta One at LAX, the check-in area for customers on Premium Tickets on Delta or SkyTeam who are traveling on international flights or the Transcon (LAX/SFO-JFK).
When I learned that he got to experience the private check in area, I asked him to write a post about it.
Delta setup this check in experience to compete with American Airlines Flagship Check-in at LAX. Based on my friends report, it looks like this is a great offering by Delta.
Trip Report – DeltaOne at LAX
Delta at LAX now offers a dedicated check in experience for customers departing on (or connecting through to) any DeltaOne flight or SkyTeam partner flight in a premium cabin. The experience starts curbside at a special entrance, which is guarded by Delta staff who have a list of approved customers who they are expecting. Annoyingly when I gave them my name it didn’t seem to be on their list (though I do have an annoyingly long hyphenated last name which may have thrown it off) but they let me in anyway. Once inside there is an awesome check in desk made from the tail of a DC9, where the agents handle all your ticketing and luggage.
On some of the walls there is some great artwork including the picture below:
I presented them with my confirmation number and they instantly found my reservation and printed up my tickets. Around the corner from the check in desk is a lovely lounge area where you are invited to have some snacks and hang out while the agents process your check in and any luggage you may have. It reminded me of a mini skyclub but much less crowded. There’s a side table with cold drinks such as sodas and juice (no alcohol), fresh fruit, chips, and granola bars.
On the other wall of the lounge there are 3 kiosks to change your seats, check your flight status, etc. As well as an elevator to take you up to the expedited security lane.
Once you exit the elevator its somewhat eerie. The doors opened to a large empty sterile hall that turns and continues down for a ways before entering into the TSA area.
Once you pass through the automatic doors at the end of the hall there’s a checkpoint directly on your right which appeared to be closed when I arrived, so you continue to walk down to the agent at the far end of the walkway which is the basic entrance for SkyPriority/Precheck.
Overall I would say the DeltaOne at LAX experience is neat…but not majorly game changing. I liked not having to deal with any crowds, having a little peace and quiet before entering the main insanity of LAX. But that’s the problem too, its essentially just a nicer ticket counter.