Delta launches new luxury lounge at Heathrow

Most striking is an indoor “living wall” composed of more than 60 different species of plants, a green mix woven together by French botanist Patrick Blanc into a kind of vertical “jungle” that rises up from behind the various seating areas.

“We know there are other lounges out there, but this one is more calming and its design is more contemporary than others I’ve seen,” said Francesca Freeland, director of the SkyTeam Heathrow Airport team.

The lounge, with its full-body massage chairs, personal computers, day beds and showers, offers space for more than 300 passengers. “The lounge will never be more than 75 percent full, though, so that there will always be plenty of space,” Freeland said.

As the first co-branded SkyTeam lounge, the unveiling was designed to showcase the growing synergy between Delta and its partner airlines.

In May 2008, the U.S. Department of Transportation approved antitrust immunity for a deal involving Delta, Northwest, and SkyTeam partners Air France, Alitalia, CSA Czech Airlines and KLM, allowing them to consolidate their joint ventures.

“This lounge is just another way for us to offer a seamless traveling experience to passengers,” said Vinay Dube, Delta’s managing director of alliances. Toward that end, a single check-in facility is planned for later this year at Heathrow as well as a single set of kiosks, allowing alliance passengers to access travel reservations with any of the various carriers.

“The idea is that passengers feel as though they are moving seamlessly through just one airline,” he said.

In addition to boosting synergy, the lounge also is intended as a tool to help Delta fill the premium seats that are so lucrative to all airlines. Ernest Arvai, president of the Arvai Group, a consulting firm to the airline industry based in Windham, N.H., said the SkyTeam carriers are indeed offering a competitive overall product to premium passengers — and one that is constantly improving.

“But it would be difficult to place them as a leader in service or innovation when compared to Singapore, Emirates, Virgin, or even British Airways, who pioneered the lay-flat bed in business class, and dramatically improved their lounges at both Terminal 4 and now Terminal 5 some time ago,” he said. “SkyTeam is playing catch-up and, while moving closer, is still not the leader in business class innovation or perceived value.”

Other airlines, too, have launched their own initiatives to draw premium passengers. British Airways announced this month that it would provide free London black cabs for passengers living within 100 miles of Heathrow as part of a three-month trial. Virgin Atlantic has always offered a chauffeured car service for upper-class passengers. Virgin also has long set the standard when it comes to lounges, with its Heathrow clubhouse boasting a pool, cinema and hair salon.

British Airways also has radically overhauled its airport lounges. For example, one now features a Gold Bar — covered in gold leaf and lit by a Swarovski crystal chandelier — from which customers can help themselves to wines and spirits.

“We believe that our lounges at Terminal 5 and Terminal 3 are state of the art in terms of comfort and service and we’re not afraid of any competition at Heathrow from other airlines’ lounges,” said Laura Goodes, a British Airways spokesperson.

But Dube believes Delta can beat the competition with its overall level of service. “There’s no end to competing on flash but we only want to have the flash that makes sense for our premium customers,” he said.