Delta One Airport Lounges

Overview

Opportunity

Solution

Impact

Team

Across three major U.S. gateways, Delta One Lounges turn premium travel into a locally flavored hospitality experience that begins long before boarding.

Location

New York, Los Angeles, and Boston

Client

Delta Airlines

Expertise

Hospitality Aviation [FPO] Consumer Experience & Retail

Opportunity

Delta set out to redefine what premium travel feels like on the ground, translating data from traveler’s onboard experience into spaces that feel luxe, personal, and rooted in place.

As airport lounge offerings expand, Delta saw an opportunity to extend its most premium onboard experience to the ground. The challenge was to turn the airline’s deep customer insights into spaces that exceed that average travel day expectations; from chef curated meals and cocktails to restorative wellness services and private workspaces. At the same time, the concept needed to scale across key hubs without becoming formulaic, giving guests a consistent level of service while expressing New York, Los Angeles, and Boston with authenticity.

Why This Matters

01
Extend the Premium Journey
Delta wanted the care, personalization, and exclusivity of Delta One to begin on the ground, creating seamless continuity from the first airport touchpoint through departure at each flagship hub.
02
Design Around Traveler Goals
A premium lounge needed to recognize different travel-day priorities, giving guests intuitive choices to dine, work, recharge, socialize, or prepare for a long-haul flight without friction.
03
Scale Without Sameness
Delta envisioned a recognizable global standard without sameness, balancing consistent service principles with design, art, food, and materials rooted in each city across multiple locations.

No two Delta One Lounges are alike, with each new space, we strive to create something truly special and distinct to the host city.

Solution

Gensler created a framework to create three unmistakably local destinations, pairing consistent Delta service with richly layered expressions of New York, Los Angeles, and Boston.

The design organizes each lounge as a collection of experiences rather than a single waiting room. Dining anchors the program, while wellness areas, work booths, quieter retreats, and outdoor spaces let guests shape their time. A shared language of warm hospitality, refined materials, and intuitive zoning creates continuity across locations. Local character emerges through specific, contemporary references: New York’s brasseries and landmarks at JFK, Southern California’s coast and cinematic history at LAX, and Boston’s maritime and academic heritage at Logan.

From brief to build: customer archetypes and place-based references shaped a repeatable experience blueprint that became three distinct material and service narratives.

The team began with traveler goals, using them to choreograph choices between full-service dining, quick bites, focused work, and wellness. Local storytelling then moved beyond applied decoration to shape architectural moments. At JFK, Brooklyn Bridge cables inform a suspended dining fixture, and a penny-round ceiling recalls Saarinen’s original terminal. At LAX, circadian lighting supports long-haul travelers, while the bar ceiling evokes the Pacific. In Boston, the sail ceiling and bar geometry reinterpret marine origins through form, bronze, and marine tones.

Impact

The Delta One Lounges set a new benchmark for luxury airport lounges, earning praise from travel and business media for its luxurious design and experience.

By developing an experience blueprint that honored Delta’s focus on personalized solutions and traveler goals, the design team delivered luxury environments and services in a thoughtful, bold, and modern way.

What Changed Because of This

01
Journey Continuity
At some locations, dedicated check-in connects directly to the lounge, extending personalized service from airport arrival through boarding.
02
Personalized Choice
A range of services and settings allow travelers to choose experiences that best match their schedule, priorities, and desires.
03
Local Distinction
Each flagship gains a memorable identity rooted in its city, helping Delta deliver a consistent premium standard across all locations.

Recognition

01

The Wall Street Journal

Explored how airport lounges with “ever-swankier amenities” are transforming travel, highlighting the Gensler-designed Delta One lounge at JFK Airport and Delta Sky Club at LAX, which are designed to welcome visitors across generations and travel styles.

02

Interior Design

NYCxDESIGN Awards 2025 names Gensler’s Delta One Lounge, at John F. Kennedy International Airport the Bar/Lounge Category Honoree.

03

Hospitality Design

Featured the Gensler-designed Delta One Lounge at Los Angeles International Airport. The premium lounge offers a luxurious and intimate travel experience with key design elements such as stone walls, bespoke millwork cabinets, and backlit mirrors.

Team

Project Leadership

Matthew Johnson

Matthew is a Principal and Studio Director who guides complex airport programs and creates terminal environments that align operational performance with an intuitive passenger experience.

Siobhan Barry

With 20 years of experience designing high-profile retail, restaurant, and hospitality environments, Siobhan has built a reputation for dynamic, modern interiors that delight the senses and capture the imagination.

FAQ

01

What is a Delta One Lounge?

Delta One Lounges extend the airline’s premium onboard experience to the ground through full-service dining, personalized hospitality, wellness, work, and retreat spaces.

02

Where are the three lounges Gensler designed as part of the Delta One Lounge program?

Gensler designed Delta One Lounges at John F. Kennedy International Airport’s Terminal 4, Los Angeles International Airport’s Terminal 3, and Boston Logan International Airport’s Terminal E.

03

How does each lounge reflect its city?

JFK draws from New York’s brasseries, Art Deco landmarks, and infrastructure. LAX references the Pacific, Hollywood, and Southern California Modernism. Boston interprets the city’s maritime and academic heritage.

04

Who designed the Delta One Lounges?

Gensler designed the lounges in partnership with Delta Air Lines, using the airline’s customer insights to develop the experience blueprint and locally responsive design language.

Related Work

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Related Expertise

Hospitality Aviation Consumer Experience & Retail

Across three major U.S. gateways, Delta One Lounges turn premium travel into a locally flavored hospitality experience that begins long before boarding.

Delta set out to redefine what premium travel feels like on the ground, translating data from traveler’s onboard experience into spaces that feel luxe, personal, and rooted in place.

Why This Matters

Gensler created a framework to create three unmistakably local destinations, pairing consistent Delta service with richly layered expressions of New York, Los Angeles, and Boston.

From brief to build: customer archetypes and place-based references shaped a repeatable experience blueprint that became three distinct material and service narratives.

The Delta One Lounges set a new benchmark for luxury airport lounges, earning praise from travel and business media for its luxurious design and experience.

What Changed Because of This