Review: Oneworld Lounge Seoul Incheon Airport (ICN)

During my trip to Japan via Mongolia, I visited the oneworld Lounge Incheon. For context, the oneworld alliance recently started opening up its own branded lounges, with the first location being at Seoul Incheon (since then, a second lounge has opened at Amsterdam Schiphol).

I was curious to see how oneworld’s product stacks up, given that it’s the last of the “big three” global alliances to operate its own lounges. So, how was the oneworld Lounge Incheon? I’m conflicted. The lounge’s decor is super modern, and, um, memorable, though I still can’t decide if I love it or hate it. Meanwhile the lounge’s food selection is roughly what I’d expect from a contract lounge.

oneworld Lounge Incheon location

The oneworld Lounge Incheon is located in Terminal 1, which is where all oneworld airlines depart from. Specifically, the lounge is located near gate 28, on the fourth floor (one level above the concourse).

Gate 28 is located roughly near the center of the terminal, so it shouldn’t be more than a 10-minute walk to any end of the terminal.

When you’re near gate 28, you’ll see signage along the side of the terminal for both the oneworld Lounge and Korean Air Lounge.

Take the escalator up a level, and then make a sharp right turn, and you’ll see the entrance to the oneworld Lounge straight ahead.

oneworld Lounge Incheon hours

The oneworld Lounge Incheon hours are based on the departure times of all oneworld carriers departing from the airport, so you can expect the lounge will be open in the hours leading up to any oneworld flights. Currently the lounge is open daily from 7:30AM until 11:45PM.

oneworld Lounge Incheon entry requirements

The oneworld Lounge Incheon follows standard oneworld lounge access policies. This means that the lounge can be accessed by all departing oneworld first and business class passengers, as well as the alliance’s Emerald members and Sapphire members. Everyone can bring one guest with them, except business class passengers, who aren’t allowed guests.

The oneworld Lounge can’t be accessed through any other means — it doesn’t belong to Priority Pass, and you can’t buy access to the lounge.

oneworld Lounge Incheon seating & layout

The oneworld Lounge Incheon is 555 square meters (~6,000 square feet), with seating for 148 people. So it’s not a very large lounge, especially for late at night, when there are the most oneworld departures around the same time.

The lounge primarily consists of one large room, and I love the super high ceilings, plus the floor-to-ceiling windows, which give this lounge a spacious feel. As far as the lounge’s design goes, this isn’t your typical lounge with just endless rows of the same seats facing one another. Instead, the lounge has more types of seating options than I can count.

As you enter the lounge, you’ll first notice the bar area, with has some high-top seating.

Then there’s a little nook, with a long padded booth, plus some chairs.

There’s a communal table with some chairs that can turn, and a bench with some small side tables.

By the windows there are seats looking out at the apron, offering among the best views in the lounge.

The center area of the lounge has a huge curving couch, with plenty of other seating around it.

Near the buffet there are some dining tables, both in a small room next to the buffet, as well as along the perimeter of the buffet.

The design gets even stranger in the back of the lounge, with… well, however you want to describe this. I’ll just let the pictures speak for themselves.

As far as other features go, the lounge has two semi-private workstations, which is a feature that I appreciate. Each room has a door, so it’s ideal if you want to make a phone call, or just want some quiet.

The lounge also has a conference room, with seating for up to five people.

Lastly, the lounge has some lockers near the entrance, should you want to store your luggage while in the lounge.

As I said at the beginning of the review, I’m conflicted about the decor and design of this lounge. On the one hand, I appreciate that this isn’t just your typical, generic, boring lounge. But arguably this lounge is the opposite extreme. I also think a lot of the furniture is style over substance, as many of the chairs areas aren’t actually that comfortable to sit on.

oneworld Lounge Incheon food & drinks

The oneworld Lounge Incheon has a self-serve buffet. In addition to a pretty standard food selection, it’s my understanding that some of the options rotate throughout the day, with some food options reflecting the oneworld airlines that have departures around those times.

During my morning visit, breakfast was being served. To be honest, I found the food selection to be forgettable — it wasn’t bad, but it also wasn’t materially better than I’d expect at any third party lounge at the airport.

Cold breakfast options included yogurt, fruit, macaroni salad, cucumber salad, coleslaw, cereal, and bread rolls.

Hot options included scrambled eggs, assorted sausages, baked beans, potatoes, and Korean style noodles with soup.

As far as drinks go, there was a small selection of liquor, wine, beer, juice, milk, soda, and water.

Coffee was available from two different self-serve espresso machines, and there was also a selection of tea.

While the lounge doesn’t have barista coffee, later in the day there is a bartender on staff to prepare cocktails, so that’s a nice feature.

oneworld Lounge Incheon bathrooms & showers

The oneworld Lounge Incheon bathrooms are located in the back left of the facility.

The men’s room has three sinks, two stalls (with a bidet feature), and two urinals.

The lounge also has two shower suites, each of which has a sink, a toilet, and a walk-in shower.

Bottom line

The oneworld Lounge Incheon is the global alliance’s first lounge, with a memorable hard product but an unmemorable soft product. The lounge’s decor is unique and ultra modern and quirky, while the lounge’s food and drink selection is just average. At least the lounge has features like shower suites and semi-private workstations.

What’s your take on the oneworld Lounge Incheon, and what do you make of the decor?