Asiana Club - Question - International transfer at Incheon

I checked previous posts but could not find the exact answer.

I arrive at Incheon from HKG in F (17:45) and connect to ORD one hour later at 18:45.

Exactly how does this transfer work? I understand I will have to go through security but not immigration and roughly how long does it take.

Will I have a chance to visit the first class lounge ans is the lounge close to the gate?

Thank you!

I am not quite sure why you are starting new threads and keep asking separate questions given I had a detailed trip report with photos about the exact same routing also in F in just two months ago.

Security can take about 15 min or more depends on how busy it is.

You certainly can still go to the F lounge, but I don't like to board when Y had already started boarding. There is no assigned gate for a specific route and I don't believe they do that anywhere else, are you flying the first time in your life ?

I just did a similar routing from PVG. Despite the fact we were more than an hour and one-half late, an agent was waiting for those of us connecting and swifty guided us thru security in less than 5 minutes....many thanks for holding the plane for us. My experience at ICN is that the tranfer security check is ordinarily very quick and painless. Unfortunately given our departure delay, no chance to visit the lounge.

There is no assigned gate for a specific route and I don't believe they do that anywhere else, are you flying the first time in your life ?

I infer negatively intended sarcasm. If so, that was unnecessary.

I infer negatively intended sarcasm. If so, that was unnecessary.

The person has been asking question after question, staring new threads, even I had pointed out about my extensive trip report on the same routing in the same class two months ago, basically it had already covered all of the answers of his questions, and there was new thread about ICN transfers. I do think it is true that unless the person is flying the first time in their life, or he wouldn't want to find out if the lounge is close to the gate, as no airlines would use the same gate for the same destination every single day. If he is asking for the lounge location, it had also covered with another thread.

I wellcome any questions that I didn't cover, but not someone who wouldn't just search and read.

The person has been asking question after question, staring new threads, even I had pointed out about my extensive trip report on the same routing in the same class two months ago, basically it had already covered all of the answers of his questions, and there was new thread about ICN transfers. I do think it is true that unless the person is flying the first time in their life, or he wouldn't want to find out if the lounge is close to the gate, as no airlines would use the same gate for the same destination every single day. If he is asking for the lounge location, it had also covered with another thread.

I wellcome any questions that I didn't cover, but not someone who wouldn't just search and read.

Hi ORDnHKG...

Please accept my sincere apologies - I really did not mean to upset you.

Unfortunately I am not as an experienced Asiana flyer or Asiana forum participant as you are.

I shall refrain from asking questions on the Asiana forum from now on.

...Peter

Oh jeez, ORDnHKG has his point and I agree with his comment but then it doesn't hurt to just write a few words for yukonprince.

ICN's departure and arrival are separated by a floor like NRT. Once you land in ICN, disembark your aircraft, follow "Transfer" sign so you won't end up at immigration. You will take a escalator to one floor up where you will have to take transfer security check as usual. Past this point, you are in airside of departure floor.

You will definitely have time to check out F lounge but honestly you can't spend more than 30 min there. I advise you to take a quick shower if you want and get some drinks.

ICN is a huge airport but with travelator, it won't take too long but I advise you to leave lounge 30 min before your depature time.

Enjoy your flight.

You will definitely have time to check out F lounge but honestly you can't spend more than 30 min there. I advise you to take a quick shower if you want and get some drinks.



I think this is impossible to take a quick shower in the F lounge, as it takes quite a while for the water to warm up. It is down icy cold from the beginning. The time I was there in the morning, it took me more than 10 min for the water in order to get slightly warm (Everyone want a hot shower after a long flight), and it never get hot at all after 20 min running either. I think it is the same experience with A_Lee as well when he was there in the evening.

For my flight, HKG-ICN-ORD, first of all HKG-ICN was already leaving late, the plane didn't land at ICN until 5:45pm, park at the gate, go thru the security get to the lounge already 6:15pm, by 6:30pm, they had already started boarding, I just took a stroll to see what kind of food they offered and left. The time was too tight to do anything in the lounge unlike for the outboung flight.

I shall refrain from asking questions on the Asiana forum from now on.

...Peter

I don't mean about not asking questions, it is just the questions you asked had been answered more than a few times by other people in the past week or two.

I think this is impossible to take a quick shower in the F lounge, as it takes quite a while for the water to warm up. It is down icy cold from the beginning. The time I was there in the morning, it took me more than 10 min for the water in order to get slightly warm (Everyone want a hot shower after a long flight), and it never get hot at all after 20 min running either. I think it is the same experience with A_Lee as well when he was there in the evening.

Well, I would be the last to know what's going on in F lounge since I'm just a lowly *G travelling on SQ Y all the time hahaha. In C side, it took less than 1 min to heat up at about 6PM in winter. Oh it was in Concourse A.

I think this is impossible to take a quick shower in the F lounge, as it takes quite a while for the water to warm up. It is down icy cold from the beginning. The time I was there in the morning, it took me more than 10 min for the water in order to get slightly warm (Everyone want a hot shower after a long flight), and it never get hot at all after 20 min running either. I think it is the same experience with A_Lee as well when he was there in the evening.

The attendant went to warm up the water for me once when I requested a shower, but she wasn't gone more than a minute or two before she came back and said it was hot. When I've just gone in without asking, it's never taken more than a minute for the water to get hot. All these times have been in late/afternoon or evening. I think your experience was probably because you were the first one in the morning to get a shower and the hot water hadn't yet circulated into the lounge. As a recommendation to others using the lounge in the morning, it might be wise to ask the attendant if the water is readily hot or not. If not ask to run the water in the shower while you grab a quick drink and/or bite to eat, then take your shower.

As to leaving the lounge 30 minutes before your departure time, that all depends on how far your gate is, what speed you walk at, and if you want to board early or just before departure. Some gates are very near the lounge and only take a couple of minutes to get to. For me, if I walk quickly and use the travelators, I can make it from the F lounge to any OZ gate in about 5 minutes. So assuming you should be at your gate 10 minutes before departure, and adding another 5 minutes onto my maximum times, 20 minutes I'd think would be enough. Of course no time to stop and shop.

The time spent in the transfer queue may though be a factor in whether there's enough time for a shower or not. I've seen time when there's nobody or only a handful of people in the queue, and times when there's been a very long line. So impossible to really estimate that factor.

There is no assigned gate for a specific route and I don't believe they do that anywhere else, are you flying the first time in your life ?

You are right that at ICN there are no specific assigned gates for specific routes, at least not with OZ or with other airlines that I'm aware of, though not sure if KE does or not. The same is true with many airports that I've experienced, though definitely not all airports. TPE is a prime example of an airport where you always get the exact same gate for the same flight. At least that's been my experience with non TPE based carriers. And I think a similar thing happens in HKG, doesn't it? I've always gotten the same gate when flying there on non-CX flights but I've only flown CX once so don't know about them. For SIN, I usually fly SQ and usually the gates are different, but there is one flight I've taken from there which always seems to get the same gate, so not 100% sure of that. I do though think many non-SQ flights get the same gate all the time. At BKK I've seen SQ, OZ and other *A carrier planes always parked at the same gates each time, though every TG flight I've ever taken is totally unpredictable as to the gate.

You are right that at ICN there are no specific assigned gates for specific routes, at least not with OZ or with other airlines that I'm aware of, though not sure if KE does or not. The same is true with many airports that I've experienced, though definitely not all airports. TPE is a prime example of an airport where you always get the exact same gate for the same flight. At least that's been my experience with non TPE based carriers. And I think a similar thing happens in HKG, doesn't it? I've always gotten the same gate when flying there on non-CX flights but I've only flown CX once so don't know about them. For SIN, I usually fly SQ and usually the gates are different, but there is one flight I've taken from there which always seems to get the same gate, so not 100% sure of that. I do though think many non-SQ flights get the same gate all the time. At BKK I've seen SQ, OZ and other *A carrier planes always parked at the same gates each time, though every TG flight I've ever taken is totally unpredictable as to the gate.

HKG - No, non CX flights does not always use the same gate. UA is supposed to use 60 and 62 all the time, but there are times CX was using it, then UA park at the 50s. Last time I flew OZ was using 15, the other time was using 19. The only airline I seen more regularly is NH, most of the time either use 32 or 34. All I will say is they may not be the same gate, but the same direction.

NRT - definately no assigned gate just like in ICN

Bottom Line, unless the airline only has one flight a day, fly into the terminal only share by one other airline, (NH use the same C10 everyday in ORD T1, as well as LH use B16 and B18 in T1, with all other gates are used by UA) there is no fix gate period.