Delta Air Lines Inc, consistently cited for its premium service as the best US airline in customer satisfaction surveys, now aims to compete on the global level. On Tuesday, June 25, it opened its first Delta One Lounge in John F. Kennedy International Airport’s Terminal 4—a move it hopes will help it rival such competitors as Emirates and Cathay Pacific, not merely United and American. The lounge is named after Delta’s just-refreshed business-class cabins that go by the same name. At 39,707 square feet—nearly three times the size of its JFK SkyClub lounge that opened in July 2023 and some 10,000 square feet larger than Cathay’s year-old flagship Pier Lounge in Hong Kong—the Delta One lounge is a sprawling space with an ambitious sit-down restaurant, a wellness and spa area, soundproof work pods, and personalized valet services. It’s the first of many to come: The airline plans to open smaller Delta One lounges in Los Angeles in October and in Boston in November. Also coming to the New York location this fall will be an almost unprecedented perk: private TSA screenings that are typically available only at certain airports with costly membership-based services. Delta’s existing SkyClubs can be accessed with a membership subscription, premium cabin boarding pass, Gold Medallion status or certain credit cards, but the new lounge will be restricted to those holding same-day business-class boarding passes on Delta or on partner carriers such as AirFrance and KLM. <br/>
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National carrier Vietnam Airlines JSC risks insolvency as early as July if the repayment deadline for a government-backed loan isn’t extended, according to a statement on the National Assembly’s website. The airline is in a “financial crisis” because it hasn’t yet completed refinancing efforts such as restructuring non-core investments and sales of new shares due to delays in regulatory approvals, according to the statement. The parliament’s economic committee called Vietnam Airline’s situation “urgent” and implored the legislative body to act quickly. Vietnam Airlines received 4t dong ($157m) in low-cost loans from commercial banks that were refinanced at 0% interest by the central bank in 2021. The government recommended the parliament to allow three loan repayment extensions through Dec. 31, 2027 to give the airline time to complete its restructuring, the statement said.<br/>