First look: Delta unveils $229M upgrade to LAX Terminal 5
LOS ANGELES -- Delta Air Lines celebrated the completion of its three-year, $229 million terminal-wide refurbishment of Terminal 5 at Los Angeles International Airport on Wednesday. The carrier staged a ribbon-cutting for the opening of Delta ONE at LAX, the carrier's first premium check-in lounge with a dedicated curbside entrance, a high-design atmosphere, and a security checkpoint accessible directly from the lounge.
The new pre-security lounge is "for our Delta ONE customers and our 360 unpublished tier customers – our highest revenue-generating customers – and is a facility that will brisk them through the experience, from the curb right to security," Jeff Robertson, VP -- Delta Sky Club, Product Development & Marketing Communication, said during a reception in the lounge, "It's about extending the onboard product to the ground."
The lounge features a stone wall, back-lit blue glass, check-in kiosks and functional artwork that includes a service desk made by MotoArt from the tail of a DC9 jet. At 3,200-square feet, the facility has two seating areas, a refreshment bar, two restrooms and is designed to serve 150 to 200 customers a day.
Customers who purchase Delta's VIP Select service will also be eligible to use the Delta ONE lounge at LAX, said Robertson. That also will be true for Delta ONE lounges that the airline has planned for airports in New York, (in early-to-mid-2016), Atlanta, Minneapolis, Salt Lake City, Seattle and other Delta hub cities.
Delta also just completed upgrades to its LAX Sky Club, adding 100 additional seats, new shower suites and renovated bathrooms, an updated food area with café seating, and fresh artwork by L.A. artists.
The three-year Terminal 5 refurbishment program also brings upgraded food and beverage concepts, new jet bridges, an expanded ticketing lobby, four additional security screening checkpoints, new baggage carousels and international baggage recheck facilities.
Delta's upgrades at LAX Terminal 5 are part of a more-than $8 billion overhaul of LAX, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said prior to the ribbon cutting ceremony.
"We're making LAX a world-class airport befitting a city that is the global capital of creativity, innovation and possibility," said Garcetti, "I am thrilled that Delta is growing its presence here in Los Angeles."
Harriet Baskas is a Seattle-based airports and aviation writer and USA TODAY Travel's "At the Airport" columnist. She occasionally contributes to Ben Mutzabaugh's Today in the Sky blog. Follow her at twitter.com/hbaskas.
