SkyTeam, the global airline alliance which Delta is a part of, is taking its customers’ airport experience to new heights by opening a new lounge at Vancouver International Airport later this year. The alliance’s first branded facility in North America, it will offer a luxurious environment for First, Business and Elite Plus customers flying on any of the alliance’s nine member airlines currently serving the airport.

SkyTeam currently offers six branded lounges around the world in Beijing, Dubai, Hong Kong, Istanbul, London Heathrow and Sydney, serving hundreds of thousands high-value customers each year. In addition to this, the alliance is also working to improve customer travel experiences while gaining its members value from the synergies.

“With the opening of Vancouver later this year, SkyTeam will offer more branded airport lounges around the world than any other airline alliance. Increasing the number of shared facilities worldwide realizes significant synergies for our airlines while offering a greatly enhanced airport experience for our top customers,” said Perry Cantarutti, SkyTeam’s CEO and Managing Director. “Meanwhile, we continue to invest in technology so that we can capitalize on emerging customer trends, drive greater efficiencies and continue to deliver value for our airlines and their passengers.”

In addition to increasing its global lounge network, the 20-strong airline alliance is focused on projects designed to enhance the customer experience giving SkyTeam airlines the most from their membership. These include:

Customer engagement: The alliance has now recruited more than 10,000 high-value travelers as SkyPriority auditors, assessing their airport experience at every SkyPriority touchpoint. Over 50,000 observations have been recorded from over 600 airports globally. From this feedback, we are improving signage at Check-in areas in some airports and focusing more on baggage handling by improving the first-on-belt performance.

Loyalty benefits: Customers can ensure they never miss a mile by using SkyTeam’s retro-crediting tool that will be available across all members by year end. With a continued focus on technology driven solutions, 50 percent of all SkyTeam award redemptions are now booked via the web/mobile

Business solutions: With a growing portfolio of travel products, SkyTeam is the first alliance to offer a dedicated product for Marine and Offshore travel and has also launched corporate contracts specifically for companies in Greater China.

SkyTeam member airlines serving Vancouver are: Aeroméxico, Air France, China Airlines, China Eastern, China Southern, Delta Air Lines, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Korean Air and Xiamen Airlines.