Passengers travelling through Seoul’s Incheon Airport on flights operated by Skyteam member airlines can look forward to a new lounge option with the opening of a new Korean Air Lounge in Terminal 1.
The new lounge, which opened today and is located on the fourth floor of T1 near Gate 28, follows the closure of its former Korean Air Lounge at the Concourse Terminal on June 1.
Key features of the new lounge include two shower booths, a relaxation area with massage chairs, a baggage depository area, and a “mother’s room”. In total, the lounge covers 685 sqm and has seating for 140 guests, with both first and business class passengers sharing the same space.
Along with the new T1 lounge, Korean Air also operates a Korean Air Lounge (First, Miler Club and Prestige West) at T2 (pictured above) by Gate 249, and another (Prestige East) by Gate 253.
Korean Air has only released renderings of the new T1 lounge (pictured below) at this stage.
However, the design of the new lounge appears similar to the Miler Club Lounge at T2 (main picture and pictured below), and a spokesperson for the airline has confirmed to Business Traveller Asia-Pacific that the new Korean Air Lounge at T1 will follow a similar design to the T2 lounge.
The opening of a new lounge in Incheon Airport’s T1 is interesting considering the carrier shifted much of its operations to the new T2 building in January last year, along with a number of its fellow Skyteam member carriers, namely Delta Air Lines and Air France-KLM.
According to the spokesperson, the current Concourse lounge is mainly used by leasing airlines, and it seems the new lounge will follow a similar function.
That being said, the new lounge won’t be without its inconveniences. Fellow Skyteam carrier Vietnam Airlines, for instance, still flies out of Incheon’s Concourse Terminal rather than T2. The relocation of the Korean Air Lounge from the Concourse Terminal to T1 means Vietnam Airlines passengers will now need to transit between the two buildings, a process that takes about 15 minutes by shuttle train.
Korean Air has been making other changes to its premium offerings, notably dropping first class seating from 76 of its 111 international routes at the beginning of this month. Only 35 routes, approximately 30 per cent of the airline’s international flights, will offer first class seating from now on.