Delta One JFK lounge opens. This is what's inside

Delta Airlines The airport's most exclusive lounge opens this week for travelers traveling with the correct ticket.

The Delta One lounge at the airline's hub at John F. Kennedy International Airport will open Wednesday to customers departing or arriving in the Delta One cabin, the airline's highest level of service. It's the latest effort by U.S. airlines to win over high-paying customers. CNBC took a look inside.

The more than 39,000-square-foot space features a high-end restaurant, as well as a quick-service bakery and walk-up food counter. It also has a full bar and a terrace overlooking the airfield.

The lounge, Delta's largest, is a step up from Delta's more affordable Sky Club lounges, with areas to relax. Travelers are offered free spa treatments for the eyes, hands and arms and what's called “recovery remedy,” a 10-minute massage of the shoulders, scalp and temples.

There are eight suites with showers complete with robes and slippers, and travelers can leave their clothes outside for staff to steam them in a matter of minutes, Delta says.

For travelers who want to keep working, the space includes eight soundproof cabins. In total, the hall has capacity for 515 people.

Last year, Delta said the average age of its SkyMiles members decreased from 44 years old in 2017 to 39 years old in 2022.

“It's important to note that not every new member starts out as a Million Miler,” Dwight James, Delta's senior vice president of customer engagement and loyalty, said in an interview. “This notion of premium that we talk about is also an aspiration.”

James declined to say how much Delta is investing in the room.

Delta has had problems with overcrowding at some of its other Sky Clubs, including long lines to get into some of them. Last year, it unveiled more restrictive entry requirements, only to roll back some of them weeks later.

“I'm really confident that the line issue will be addressed once this lounge opens,” James said.

In addition to travelers with Delta One tickets, the lounge will also be open to travelers with the secret invitation-only “360” status that Delta gives out to a select few. Travelers in equivalent cabins on Delta's partner airlines will also have access.

The Delta One lounge will also feature a dedicated security checkpoint starting in September or October, a benefit the airline offers at Los Angeles International Airport for Delta One travelers.

The airline plans to open Delta One lounges in Boston and Los Angeles later this year. James said the company is studying Delta One lounges in other cities, such as its main hub in Atlanta and Seattle.