Korean Air Skypass - KAL lounge in Concourse A is superb!

Been to KAL lounge in Concourse A for the first time a few hours ago, and I was totally impressed with that lounge. Interior design was very good because of its colorfulness; celadon, skyblue, and other basic color tones are well applied in decorating the interior. Food was excellent in the evening especially when compared to Asiana lounge in Main Terminal or Asiana lounge in Concourse A at the same time. Asiana had very limited selections while Korean Air had significantly more selections than Asiana without any question. Shower room was very nicely designed as well except for hot water pressure. B787-800, A380-800, and B747-400 model planes added more beauty to the lounge. Another interesting amenity was CIQ cards; they placed CIQ cards of various countries including Fiji and Egypt. Of course, a wide range of magazines and newspapers was available. Most of all, the ambiance of this lounge was top-notch. I give my two thumbs up to those who designed the interior. ^^

Most of all, the ambiance of this lounge was top-notch. I give my two thumbs up to those who designed the interior. ^^

Well, I guess everyone will have a different opinion on this. I'm completely opposite of you. I absolutely hated it! It is by far the worst interior design I've ever seen in a lounge. It was so bad to my liking that I left the lounge after only a few minutes. The OZ lounge interior design is very nice, while the KE is just downright hard on the eyes. Food-wise though, I agree with your description - the KE lounge does have better food than either of the OZ C lounges. For the record, I dislike all of KE's designs - their colors, their ads, their FA uniforms, and especially their lounge decor. It's all too bright and tries too hard to be ultra modern and artsy or something. OZ sticks to more traditional designs which is very much to my liking.

Anyways, I hated the concourse A lounge so much that if given a choice again, I'd opt to stay out of the lounge and use the public seating and pay to eat. I'll be at the ICN concourse A next in about two weeks, so maybe as a service to the FT community will go in there again and take some photos and post here so everyone can see what it looks like and make up their own minds if the interior is something they like or not. I don't want to dissuade anyone from trying out the lounge because my opinion may very well not be the norm.

Well, I guess everyone will have a different opinion on this. I'm completely opposite of you. I absolutely hated it! It is by far the worst interior design I've ever seen in a lounge. It was so bad to my liking that I left the lounge after only a few minutes. The OZ lounge interior design is very nice, while the KE is just downright hard on the eyes. Food-wise though, I agree with your description - the KE lounge does have better food than either of the OZ C lounges. For the record, I dislike all of KE's designs - their colors, their ads, their FA uniforms, and especially their lounge decor. It's all too bright and tries too hard to be ultra modern and artsy or something. OZ sticks to more traditional designs which is very much to my liking.

Anyways, I hated the concourse A lounge so much that if given a choice again, I'd opt to stay out of the lounge and use the public seating and pay to eat. I'll be at the ICN concourse A next in about two weeks, so maybe as a service to the FT community will go in there again and take some photos and post here so everyone can see what it looks like and make up their own minds if the interior is something they like or not. I don't want to dissuade anyone from trying out the lounge because my opinion may very well not be the norm.



I find OZ lounges to be gloomy due to their dark interior tone while KE lounge at Concourse A to be lively because of its brightness. Really liked every piece of this lounge. I thought KE lounge at Concourse A was sorta similar to Club ANA lounges at NRT which are also brightly decorated.

I like the KE Term A lounge - was there two months ago. I thought is was very unique and contemporary.

Although I did not necessarily like the unisex bathrooms with glass doors.

I was there yesterday and really liked it. The foam furniture looks a bit funky but I found it to be quite comfortable. The lounge has a very bright and open feel with an excellent panorama of the tarmac. The food offerings were excellent (better than the CX lounge down the hall).

And I thought the unisex bathrooms worked pretty well. Just to clarify, the "bathroom" is a hallway off of which are individual cubicles containing a toilet and washbasin. Everything you need is within that space. They seemed to be serviced continuously. I was there for about 3 hours and used them several times. Each time they were pristine.

Is the lounge you are referring to the "concourse A Lounge" or the "Prestige Class Lounge?" See terminal map 4th floor:
http://www.koreanair.com/local/kr/gd/eng/aa/ia/eng_aa_ia_tm04.htm



Been to KAL lounge in Concourse A for the first time a few hours ago, and I was totally impressed with that lounge. Interior design was very good because of its colorfulness; celadon, skyblue, and other basic color tones are well applied in decorating the interior. Food was excellent in the evening especially when compared to Asiana lounge in Main Terminal or Asiana lounge in Concourse A at the same time. Asiana had very limited selections while Korean Air had significantly more selections than Asiana without any question. Shower room was very nicely designed as well except for hot water pressure. B787-800, A380-800, and B747-400 model planes added more beauty to the lounge. Another interesting amenity was CIQ cards; they placed CIQ cards of various countries including Fiji and Egypt. Of course, a wide range of magazines and newspapers was available. Most of all, the ambiance of this lounge was top-notch. I give my two thumbs up to those who designed the interior. ^^

Is the lounge you are referring to the "concourse A Lounge" or the "Prestige Class Lounge?" See terminal map 4th floor:
http://www.koreanair.com/local/kr/gd/eng/aa/ia/eng_aa_ia_tm04.htm
I was referring to the Concourse A lounge. The one that serves "foreign" airlines.

I was referring to the Concourse A lounge. The one that serves "foreign" airlines.

Is that one better than the other lounge? Is the other one only for people flying on KE? If I'm on KE, which one would you suggest?
Thanks!

I was there yesterday and really liked it. The foam furniture looks a bit funky but I found it to be quite comfortable. The lounge has a very bright and open feel with an excellent panorama of the tarmac. The food offerings were excellent (better than the CX lounge down the hall).


Love those chairs! :D



Is that one better than the other lounge? Is the other one only for people flying on KE? If I'm on KE, which one would you suggest?
Thanks!


If you are flying on KE, you cannot access Concourse A at all.

If you are flying on KE, you cannot access Concourse A at all.
Correct. They will not let you down the escalator to the train to A if you don't have a BP for a flight departing from there.

The food in both all the KE lounges at ICN are serviced by the Westin hotel correct?

I stuff myself of food in the Terminal A lounge before flying on China Southern in Y ;)

What more lounges need are milk! The KE lounges always have small boxes of Seoul Milk which I love having before departing Korea.

The food in both all the KE lounges at ICN are serviced by the Westin hotel correct?

I stuff myself of food in the Terminal A lounge before flying on China Southern in Y ;)

What more lounges need are milk! The KE lounges always have small boxes of Seoul Milk which I love having before departing Korea.



No, KE lounges are serviced by Hyatt Regency. Westin Chosun used to service OZ lounges, however I am not sure if it still does.

When I flew out of Term A - 3 months ago - I visited both lounges. I got to Term A since I was flying DL ICN-ATL.

Food was identical in both lounges. Term A lounge was less crowded - so appeared to have more food. Given the choice - the Term A lounge is nicer than the old one in the Main term, which is more traditional.

First off, I'm a newbie (my first FT post) and, as a disclaimer, I'm Korean. FYI, I was at this lounge on July 16th with my wife, gaining access via my Priority Pass (PP - just to add, the Korean Air Lounge in the main terminal at ICN no longer accepts PP, but maybe you all knew this already...)

The decor is going to provoke dividing opinions. For me, the first impression was that it looked like the inside of a boutique hotel that was slightly-unfinished. Maybe this was intentional but I felt there were unfurnished areas that reminded me of a boutique hotel in Beijing (which, yes, wasn't completely furnished even when it was open for business). The color scheme for the interior is consistent with KE but the funky furniture will be less appealing to people with conservative tastes (by this, I would be qualified to mean, older Koreans 45+ y.o.). To play devil's advocate, the furnitures were comfortable, and matched with the overall serene ambience, this lounge made for a very restful space to veg out.

As pointed out by other members, the food selection is better than Asiana's Concourse A lounge. You also get the typical selection of beverages as well as other amenities (magazine selection could have been richer...)

I have not used the showers but agree on the comment about the unisex bathrooms. I want to add that the bathrooms were just too dark. Younger children may not want to go there by themselves.

Hope I didn't step on any FT etiquette and look forward to contributing more to these forums.

Welcome to FlyerTalk, Exterra. That's a great initial post. I hope that we see a lot more of you.

I visited the lounge on my last Air France departure from ICN to CDG. It's a morning flight and I was in a bit of a hurry. A few quick observations: I found it to be quite spacious, practically no pax (I think AF was the only flight leaving), very airy with great views of the apron. The food and beverage seemed plentiful - I remember having several excellent blueberry muffins.

However, the decor. It reminded me of the children's play area at IKEA stores !!!

However, the decor. It reminded me of the children's play area at IKEA stores !!!



C'mon. The children's play area cannot be that great. :D BTW, pasta noodles and salads that they serve in the morning were excellent. ^

C'mon. The children's play area cannot be that great. :D BTW, pasta noodles and salads that they serve in the morning were excellent. ^

Some IKEA's are nicer than others ;-)

I want to add that the bathrooms were just too dark. Younger children may not want to go there by themselves.

Say it again!
I couldn't believe how dark the bathroom was when I stopped in there awhile back... I was fumbling around trying to find towells and such... If I recall correctly, it took me a second to find the button to flush the toilet.... Or maybe it was trouble finding the towells. Either way, it was way too dark. I thought maybe my stall had blown a light bulb or something.

As for the Korean Air/Ikea comparisons, that is the first thing I thought when I walked in the lounge.... It's so bright in there.... Perhaps they didn't have enough left in the budget to light the bathrooms! :D

And the first time I sat down, I did it slowly because it looked like the chairs were made of of pastel-coloured concrete..... Not a bad place to await your flight though....

I myself prefer Asiana lounges much more than the Korean Air ones, but to each his/her own! ;)

As a Skyteam Elite+ member, I wan't to use a lounge in ICN to take a shower during my 13 hour layover. I arrive from LAX at 4:50 AM and will be going on to Bali later that evening (both KE flights). Will I have access to a lounge with a shower at that time of the morning? I want to have a shower before going into Seoul to see friends.

As a Skyteam Elite+ member, I wan't to use a lounge in ICN to take a shower during my 13 hour layover. I arrive from LAX at 4:50 AM and will be going on to Bali later that evening (both KE flights). Will I have access to a lounge with a shower at that time of the morning? I want to have a shower before going into Seoul to see friends.



You cannot go back to the landside once you clear security at transit and step in the airside. All the lounges are in the airside, so it is either go to Seoul without using lounge or stay in lounge until departure.

You cannot go back to the landside once you clear security at transit and step in the airside. All the lounges are in the airside, so it is either go to Seoul without using lounge or stay in lounge until departure.

Please elaborate. You mean to tell me that someone is going to physically prevent me from leaving the airport? I must be missing something.

Please elaborate. You mean to tell me that someone is going to physically prevent me from leaving the airport? I must be missing something.



Upon deplaning, you must choose to either go through transfer checkpoint or clear the arrival immigration. If you go through transfer checkpoint, you will reach the airside where departure gates are. This is the place where all the lounge are including KE lounge. Once you get here, you cannot clear the arrival immigration to enter South Korea. If you clear the arrival immigration after deplaning instead, you can enter South Korea but you will not see any lounge before you clear the departure immigration to leave the country. Hopefully, this one is elaborated well so that you can understand. Most transits work like this in Asia with the exception of Singapore AFAIK.

Upon deplaning, you must choose to either go through transfer checkpoint or clear the arrival immigration. If you go through transfer checkpoint, you will reach the airside where departure gates are. This is the place where all the lounge are including KE lounge. Once you get here, you cannot clear the arrival immigration to enter South Korea. If you clear the arrival immigration after deplaning instead, you can enter South Korea but you will not see any lounge before you clear the departure immigration to leave the country. Hopefully, this one is elaborated well so that you can understand. Most transits work like this in Asia with the exception of Singapore AFAIK.

And BKK AFAIK too. These airports operate arrival and departure on 2 levels which can be transverse via stairs.

According to some in the Asiana forum, it is possible.

I'm going to try it and I'll post the results.

According to some in the Asiana forum, it is possible.

I'm going to try it and I'll post the results.

This is possible unfortunately it was a few years ago so I am fuzzy on the details. We came in from Hong Kong on the red-eye and departed later that night to Honolulu. We actually checked into the transit hotel got a few hours rest, then went into Seoul for part of the day. If I recall correctly, we told them we wanted to do a city tour and we taken down an elevator by a security officer. Upon return to the airport, we simply cleared security and went back to the hotel before departing in the evening.

Just keep in mind the tours don't start until 8 or so in the AM. Also, while there are tour desks before immigration, nobody ever showed up. We ended just going outside and taking a coach into one of the major hotels in the city.

Well,

I'm back in the Prestige Lounge for the 2nd time today. Had a wonderful day in Seoul. We visited with my wife's aunt's, uncles & grandmother. Probably the last time we will see her grandmother alive.

After the family visits we went to Namdaemun Market for a little shopping and lunch.

It is definitely possible to pass through the transit security, visit the lounge and have a shower, then go outside the airport to Seoul. We asked upon check-in in LAX and the answer was "yes". We asked when we were passing through the transit security check and the answer was "yes". Just below the 2 Korean Air lounges is an information both. They will give you a key to a free day use locker if needed to store your carry on luggage in exchange for a photo ID. One of the large lockers was enough to hold both our cases.

Very near this information booth is a little bookstore kiosk. Right behind it is a stairwell leading back down to the transit security checkpoint on the 2nd floor. Its just next to the stairs for gate 25. When we reached the bottom of the stairs we were stopped and asked if they could help us. We said we wanted to leave the airport and go into Seoul. They recorded our passport info & escorted us to the immigration area a few feet away.

Sure was nice to have a shower before our 13+ hour layover after arriving from LAX.

CO-PLAT (aka NWA-PLAT)