I had the honor and pleasure of being invited to the official ribbon cutting event at the new Delta Sky Club — which is located adjacent to the food court and near and gate B18 and the main escalators on Concourse B at the international airport which serves the greater Atlanta metropolitan area — on Tuesday, September 20, 2016.
As is always a problem with me, I took too many photographs — 304 photographs, to be exact — but as I am currently working on selecting and preparing photographs for the article pertaining to the new Delta Sky Club, here are photographs of the actual ribbon cutting.
Ribbon Cutting of New Delta Sky Club on Concourse B in Atlanta
Amongst the remarks imparted by Edward Bastian — who is currently the chief executive officer of Delta Air Lines — prior to the cutting of the ribbon is that this new Sky Club is the “flagship lounge” of the airport.
Saying that the new club is “really designed for the connecting traveler,” Bastian called the Concourse B centerpoint “one of the most trafficked intersections in aviation.” This is because on Concourse B, Delta Air Lines typically uses smaller airplanes — such as the McDonnell Douglas MD-88 and DC-9 as two of many examples — which hold fewer passengers than the larger airplanes, which means that the gates on Concourse B experience a higher turnover rate with more flights per gate.
My actual experience as a gate agent for the morning on Concourse B for Delta Air Lines taught me that information first hand.
“I think the space…is as beautiful as any I’ve seen in the United States of America and perhaps the world,” Kasim Reed — who is the current mayor of Atlanta — said. “This really is about providing best-in-class service.”
Reed also expressed that the new Delta Sky Club “has more of a feel of airports that you’d see…in Singapore or in Hong Kong or in Paris or in London.” As Reed looked over towards Bastian, he also said that Ed Bastian sits behind the same desk used by C.E. Woolman, who was the first chief executive officer of Delta Air Lines. Bastian nodded that that information was indeed correct.
The tradition apparently continues.
Shortly after the remarks by both Bastian and Reed were done, the cutting of the ribbon began.
Glen Hauenstein — who is the current president of Delta Air Lines — is shown on the left as Reed prepares to cut the ribbon.
In addition to Hauenstein, Reed and Bastian, included amongst those who were chosen to partake in the cutting of the ribbon were Greg Kennedy, who is the senior vice president of worldwide operations and is third from left; Marc Ferguson, who is general manager of the Delta Sky Club experience and is fourth from left; and Claude Roussel, who is the managing director of Sky Clubs and is to the left of and behind Reed.
Although the ribbon has been cut, the official opening of the new Delta Sky Club will not occur until Friday, September 23, 2016.
Summary
At approximately 25,000 square feet in space, this new Delta Sky Club at Concourse B is the second largest in the system, with the Sky Club at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York being the largest. The two smaller existing Sky Clubs on Concourse B — notorious amongst frequent fliers for being constantly overcrowded — will be replaced by this new Sky Club…
…and because this new Sky Club is equipped with a kitchen, food offerings will include a variety of salads and soups.
The city of Atlanta will reimburse Delta Air Lines with as much as 24 million dollars towards the cost of building this new Sky Club.
Thank you for your patience as I work to have the main article pertaining to the new Delta Sky Club, as I will try to have that posted as soon as possible because — unlike most other articles which I have already seen — the upcoming one is sure to have the most photographs.
All photographs ©2016 by Brian Cohen.
