Review: Korean Air Prestige Business Lounge Seoul Incheon Airport (ICN)

During my quick trip to Japan & Korea, I had the chance to check out the Korean Air Prestige Lounge at Seoul Incheon Airport (ICN). Prestige Class is how Korean Air markets its business class, so this is the carrier’s business class lounge at its biggest hub.

The airline has two Prestige Lounges at Incheon Airport Terminal 2 — the Prestige Lounge East and Prestige Lounge West. While I visited both, I’ll be reviewing the former, since it tends to be a bit quieter, due to being further from the central security checkpoint. The lounges are very similar, though, from the decor and seating, to the food and drinks.

I’ve gotta say, I found the Korean Air Business Lounge to not be very good — for a flagship, hub lounge, this was so underwhelming, and it pales in comparison to other lounges in the region, ranging from the Cathay Pacific Business Lounge, to the Singapore Airlines Business Lounge. I’d put this more on par with your typical Priority Pass lounge in Asia.

Ultimately it’s an okay place to kill some time, but definitely don’t arrive early to use this lounge. I’ve gotta say, these lounges really make me not want to even fly on a SkyTeam partner through Incheon, given the extent to which airlines routes their passengers through this hub.

Korean Air Business Lounge Incheon location

The Korean Air Business Lounge Incheon that I visited is located near gate 253. So after clearing security, I turned left, and walked down the main terminal corridor. Note that the other Korean Air Business Lounge is located by gate 249, so it has a more central location for all departures (as a result, it also gets busier).

The lounge is located one level above the concourse (on level four), so after walking for a few minutes, I saw it on the left.

The lounge can be accessed by elevator or escalator, and it’s in the same area as the Walkherhill Transit Hotel.

When you get to the top of the escalator, it’s interesting how the reception desk is located to the right, while the lounge is to the left, so it almost feels like it would be easy to sneak into the lounge.

I was quickly admitted to the lounge upon presenting my boarding pass, and couldn’t help but stop and appreciate the Korean Air Airbus A380 model.

Korean Air Business Lounge Incheon hours

The Korean Air Business Lounge Incheon that I visited is open daily from 6AM until 10PM, covering most departures from the airport. Note that the other Korean Air Business Lounge is open daily from 4AM until 12AM, covering even more departures.

Korean Air Business Lounge Incheon entry requirements

The Korean Air Business Lounge Incheon follows standard SkyTeam lounge access rules, so it’s open to SkyTeam business class passengers and SkyTeam Elite Plus travelers. Business class passengers can’t bring any complimentary guests, while SkyTeam Elite Plus passengers can bring one complimentary guest. The lounge doesn’t belong to Priority Pass, however.

Korean Air Business Lounge Incheon seating & layout

The Korean Air Business Lounge Incheon isn’t terribly big for a hub lounge, though it’s the (slightly) smaller of the carrier’s two business class lounges in the terminal. The below picture shows you the main room of the lounge, to give you a sense of its size.

It’s my understanding that the lounge can get slammed during peak hours, though fortunately I was traveling midday, when it was a bit quieter. The lounge’s decor is somewhat modern, but also totally boring and sterile. It’s just such a massive contrast to Cathay Pacific’s lounge design, for example.

The centerpiece of the lounge is basically some elevated high-top seating, where you feel like you’re on display for everyone, as there are rows of seats and benches that are facing these seats.

Then there are all kinds of seating arrangements outside of this center area, which aren’t much more interesting.

Look at the below picture — have you seen a more boring lounge? There was no art on the walls, but rather just a bunch of TVs all over the place (some with flight status, and some with actual programming).

Beyond the main room, there’s an entertainment room with a couple of TVs.

Perhaps the most impressive part of the lounge is the quiet room in the very back left corner. This space has two kinds of seating — there are slightly reclined chairs, and then also flat sleeping surfaces, though there’s no bedding of any sort.

Lastly, the lounge also has some lockers, should you want to store your bags while in the lounge.

Let me emphasize that I’m not saying this is some horrible lounge that’s among the worst in the world. Instead, I’m saying that Asia has some incredible lounges, and this is one of the carrier’s flagship lounges in a terminal that’s still quite new, so I just feel like Korean Air could’ve done better.

Korean Air Business Lounge Incheon food & drinks

The Korean Air Business Lounge Incheon has a self-serve buffet, which is not terrible, but also not great.

During my midday visit, the lounge’s cold food options included a salad bar of sorts, muffins, croissants, cereal, and cheese.

There were also several hot options, of varying quality. This included everything from hash browns, to a vegetable frittata, to sautéed mushrooms, to chicken sausage patties, to chicken curry, to bibimbap, to instant noodles.

Again, am I the only one who thinks that it might be a nice touch to have a noodle bar in the lounge with freshly prepared noodles, rather than these cheap instant noodles that you’d expect to find in a convenience store?

Self-serve drinks included juice dispensers, a soda fountain, a beer machine, and a fridge full of water.

Korean Air has these tiny cups of water in all of its lounges globally, and I can’t wrap my head around it. Not only is the quantity of water tiny, but drinking out of these just isn’t enjoyable. Do some people actually like these, or do we just assume it’s the cheapest option? I’d love to understand the logic, because I’ve never been able to make sense of them.

The lounge also has a bar that’s staffed, which is where all the alcohol (except beer) is available.

You can find the beverage list below.

The food selection is ultimately fine, but it’s just not as good as at other Asian hub lounges. Also, not that I’m the biggest dessert eater in the world, but I was surprised how there was no dessert at the buffet, with the exception of the muffins (which I got the sense were part of the breakfast setup, rather than being intended specifically as dessert).

Korean Air Business Lounge Incheon bathrooms & showers

The Korean Air Business Lounge Incheon has bathrooms in the back right corner of the lounge. The men’s room was clean and basic, so did the trick.

The lounge also has five shower suites, each featuring a walk-in shower, toilet, and sink (impressively with Aesop soap at the sink, the most premium aspect of the lounge). While the shower suite felt modern, the ventilation was awful, so expect to sweat after a hot shower.

Bottom line

The Korean Air Prestige Business Lounge Incheon is disappointing, at least in comparison to other hub lounges in Asia. Incheon Terminal 2 is a modern terminal that’s home to Korean Air, but despite that, Korean Air’s lounge doesn’t impress. The lounge has a super basic design with limited amenities, and a mediocre selection of food and drinks.

Ultimately this is still better than hanging out in the terminal, but I’d put this lounge more in the category of what I’d expect from a solid Priority Pass lounge at a major Asian airport, rather than what I’d expect from a carrier’s hub lounge (especially for a Skytrax 5-star airline, not that I put any weight into those rankings).

I’m lucky I at least visited during an off-peak time, because if I had walked in here when the lounge was packed, I would’ve been even more disappointed.

What do you make of the Korean Air Business Lounge Incheon?