V-Flyer

I am flying UC from Orlando to Manchester in September. I believe we can access the Delta lounge but do we have to book for guaranteed access or is it guaranteed if we have the UC ticket... any info appreciated

You can't pre-book but as you are flying Upper Class you will get access. You may, however, have to queue up to get in as many Delta lounges are very busy now.

Don't spend any longer than you need to in the airport or lounge at MCO (or any US airport for that matter).

When we came back from MCO last summer in UC we got to visit the Delta lounge. Very underwhelming and incredibly busy. They have a few light bites, but not overly appetising. There was an awkwardness too at the bar, when you're getting free drinks (though many have a surcharge), and dealing with the tipping. Well, awkward for this brit anyway!

When we used the lounge Dec 22 access was not allowed more than a couple of hours before boarding time. The lounge was busy and clearly they are trying to stop flyers spending too much time in there. Not sure if that ruling applied to Delta passengers.

We prefer The Club at MCO. You get access with Priority Pass which a few credit cards dish out. I wouldn’t pay for it, so only follow my advice if you already have a way in.

We used to opt for the $15 airport voucher over Skyclub access at MCO. Unsure if that’s still a thing, but we personally preferred grabbing a pre flight drink at Outback rather than the lounge.

Enjoy your flight.

Thanks for all the replies everyone ... i gather as usual Upper Class lounge facilities are very limited outside of a few airports!

Unless you are flying from a location where Virgin have a Clubhouse (that is open too), then the lounge offering for UC passengers is not great.

The lounge they used to use in Manchester (Escape Plus) was halfway OK - you could always get a seat. That is in old T2 now, so closed, they now use the 1903 lounge in new T2, I will reserve judgement on that until mid-June when I'll pass through it.

As to Orlando, the Delta Sky Club is like entering a 1980's time-warp in terms of decor. It can get very busy and it can be difficult to find a seat - let alone two or 3 seats together at busy times. This lounge used to be much larger too - they cut it's size by a lot some years ago (long before the pandemic).

Asa rule of thumb, no US airport lounge is anything special - unless it is restricted to International First / Business Class passengers only. Lounges like the Delta Sky Clubs can allow paid access is capacity exists & the US airlines have way too many frequent flyers with status to fill their lounges, or flyers who hold the right credit card to permit them access.

I have a soft spot for the Delta Sky Club. It’s not as busy on the later VS departures. It was reduced in size but the number of Delta flights have also been reduced, with the closure of the small jet gates (60A-K). Also BA used to use the Sky Club which they no longer do. I also think the food is quite good for a US lounge.
It’s much better than the MCO admirals club, put it that way.

However if you want peace and quiet there is a ‘hack’. This is to get the “wrong” train after security to the Southwest terminal (Airside 2, Gates 100-129). This is a very quiet terminal and while there’s no lounge, there is a Starbucks and tons of empty seating at unused gates. There is no security check to get from Airside 2 back to Airside 4 where your DL/VS flight departs from.

Does the lounge close if flights are still waiting to depart? The posted hours shows it closes at 8.15pm but our flight to MAN doesn't leave until 10.20pm, meaning we probably won't be boarding until 9.35pm. Will they just close and chuck us out?