New Delta One Lounge at LAX: A Sushi Bar and Sky Deck

Delta sets a very high bar for a premium flying experience with its new Delta One Lounge at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). The lounge, which will open to the public on Thursday, Oct. 10, is designed exclusively for people flying in Delta One, the airline’s premier first class cabin available on only a few long-haul international and domestic routes. The Delta One lounge at LAX features table service at every seat, a sushi bar and a private Sky Deck.

LAX is the second Delta One lounge location. The first one opened at New York’s John F. Kennedy airport in June 2024. Delta One lounges are more exclusive than the airline’s Sky Club lounges, which are open to certain credit cardholders, passengers in certain premium classes and lounge members. Delta One lounges, by contrast, can’t be accessed with any credit card.

» Learn more: What credit cards get me into the Delta Sky Club?

I visited the Delta One Lounge at LAX during a press preview before its opening day. Here’s what it was like.

Food and drinks

Getting food at this lounge felt like a fine dining experience. Each armchair, table or pod had a dedicated server. During my visit, each server learned my name and shared recommendations from the Los Angeles-inspired menu.

The sushi bar was the highlight of this lounge. I usually stay away from fish dishes at the airport, but here, the sushi is a must-have. The fish was fresh, the presentation was thoughtful, and the sauces and toppings made for excellent, well-balanced dishes.

The Delta One lounge at LAX also serves bento boxes, which you can’t get at any other Delta One lounge location. There are three different types (though only one is served per day): Paris - CDG, Tokyo - HND and Boston - BOS. Each is inspired by a Delta One destination that you can fly to from LAX and includes a main entree, a salad and dessert.

The Delta One drink menu also includes some charming nods to Delta One destinations, including a Tahiti-themed “Mai Omai” mai tai and three different martinis for Rome, Paris and Los Angeles.

For sweets, there was an entire table featuring local pastries and candies. Delta partnered with The Butcher’s Daughter and Sqirl, both local restaurants, and Milla Chocolates, a local chocolatier, to fill its centerpiece dessert table.

Amenities

You could probably spend several hours enjoying the food and drinks in the lounge, but the other amenities are worth exploring, too.

Wellness area

The wellness area, tucked away behind a curtain, has eight relaxation pods with either a zero-gravity chair or a massage chair. The Delta team says that chairs these took months to source. As soon as you walk into the wellness area, one of the first things you notice is the lighting in the room designed to help fight jetlag. It made the area feel more like a spa than an airport.

Inside the pods with massage chairs, you can customize the 15-minute massage experience. Attendants help you pick between the pressure options, program the lighting and music to your taste and bring hot towels. The compression in these chairs is so intense that the attendants have you take off your watches and bracelets for the full arm massage.

The best part? These pods feel spacious because of the high ceilings, unlike massage rooms in other lounges.

Sky Deck

Like the Delta Sky Club at LAX, the Delta One lounge also has a stunning Sky Deck for watching the airplanes and getting some fresh air. The good weather in Los Angeles makes this a nice reprieve from the airport any time of the year.

External monitors

If you need to do work at the Delta One lounge, one of the convenient amenities are Espresso displays, which you can borrow. These external monitors are easy to move around and set up at your table. You just plug it into your laptop and it extends your display, without needing to install any software or plug into an extra power source.

Layout

The entire Delta Sky Club essentially functions like a restaurant. There is a partitioned space called the Library, which is a good place for working.

The Business Cove is a bit more exposed, but it has a television and more cocooned seating.

There is also a bar area where you can watch the bartenders at work.

And there's a more formal restaurant area, which has a statement lighting fixture.

The floor-to-ceiling windows along the side of the lounge provide an excellent spot for plane watching, if you don’t want to be outside on the Sky Deck.

How to access the Delta One lounge at LAX

The Delta One lounge at LAX is only open for passengers flying Delta One or a premier cabin on one of Delta’s partners. You must meet one of these requirements for entry:

• Passengers departing or arriving with a same-day Delta One ticket.

• Delta 360 members departing or arriving on a same-day ticket in Delta First Class.

• Same-day departing or connecting flights in Air France La Premiere and Business Class (long-haul), LATAM Premium Business Class, KLM Business Class, Korean Air First Class and Prestige Class or Virgin Atlantic Upper Class.

There are no day passes or credit cards that can get you into a Delta One lounge, though you can use Delta SkyMiles or its partners’ miles to book a qualifying ticket to gain access to the Delta One lounges.