Korean Air Lounge Ranked No.1 in Asia Pacific Region
 

Korean Air's Lounge at Incheon International Airport Concourse A has been named "Priority Pass Lounge of the Year 2010" in Asia Pacific by Priority Pass, a UK-based company that provides worldwide cross-airline airport lounge access.

In a survey of its one million-plus members worldwide this year, Priority Pass says Korean Air's Incheon lounge was voted No.1 among 109 candidates in the Asia Pacific region.

"We are very pleased that our efforts in providing our customers with a comfortable and enjoyable travel experience have been recognized by this prestigious award. We would like to thank our customers and all Priority Pass members for their continued support," Chi Chang-hoon, President and Chief Operating Officer of Korean Air, said.

"This award serves to remind all of us at Korean Air to continue to work towards providing the best travel experience to our customers from ground to air. It also sits well with our 'Excellence in Flight' corporate slogan," added Chi. "Priority Pass Lounge of the Year" was created to honor excellence in airport lounge services worldwide and encourage enhancements.

Korean Air has partnered with Priority Pass since 1999 and currently has 13 lounges in the program, including New York, Los Angeles, and Tokyo.

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news...119_62610.html

KAL lounge has been No.1 in this rank for the last a few years. The question is, does this really matter? It ranks among only those lounges which contracted with Priority Pass, and none of the famous HKG, SIN, and NRT lounges are included. SQ, CX, JL, NH all have awesome lounges but not contracted with Priority pass. Priority pass holders can go only medium-and-low level lounges at most.

At least, it confirms that the general consensus is the KE lounge at concourse A being better than both of the OZ lounges.

Wonder what A Lee, who have argued that the OZ lounges are a lot better, thinks about this survey.

Please add me with those who argue OZ lounges are a lot better.
I just want to belong to a noble minority.:D

I have been in the Term A lounge and as shown it is a very pretty lounge. I have lots of pictures when I was there. Other than being fancy with unique furniture - it offers the same items as the KE lounge in the main terminal. The food is exactly the same, etc.

The only thing I do not like about the lounge is the unisex restrooms with the glass doors.

But the KE do have some of the best selection of lounge food - in my opinion. The lounges at ICN are catered by Hyatt.

Yeah, I don't like those unisex restrooms. I'm fine with the glass doors since they are opaque, but not having urinal is bad.

Otherwise, the lounge is awesome.

My personal opinion is that the OZ lounges are fairly equal to the KE lounge in the main terminal. The new KE lounge in the concourse though is horrible in my opinion, due mainly to the interior design. I'm the first to admit that some will like the design. For me though it simply looks like absolutely horrible - and seems to be more of a classroom than a lounge. To each there own. I'd still recommend anyone visiting the concourse at ICN to try it out, along with the OZ lounge and see which one you like best. The food selection at the KE lounge I would say is good. At the OZ lounge, the food selection was poor when it first opened, but they seem to have improved recently, so likely similar there, though again comes down to one's individual tastes.

It's been probably a year now since I was in the KE lounge, so I might pop in there again to see if anything's changed.

As Bobby Brown though says, it's only a Priority Pass survey and says nothing about the lounge in terms of overall airport lounges. Priority Pass lounges are in general horrible, so being the best Priority Pass lounge isn't really saying much. I'm guessing most of us have lounge access via other methods than Priority Pass, so for most choosing one or the other probably isn't even an option.

I'm not sure how the selection process was done in choosing this as the best lounge, but I can see all sorts of pitfalls in causing this lounge to be chosen when it might not even be liked by the majority. For instance, looking only at ICN, if you were to have people vote for their favorite lounge between the KE main terminal, OZ main terminal, KE concourse, and OZ concourse, but could only vote for one, what do you think the outcome would be? If three of the four are very similar, but the KE concourse lounge is quite different, even though most might like the three similar lounges, only being able to vote for one would divide their votes, and the KE concourse lounge could easily win with only being preferred by a minority of the people. So if they didn't take this effect into account, the voting is absolutely meaningless. If they did, and the KE concourse lounge is truly the best of the PP lounges, then so be it. It doesn't really matter to me, because I don't care if people in general agree with me or not. I know what I like and what I don't like, and I don't like KE concourse.

Another factor is that more people may have tried the KE lounge compared to the OZ lounges, so those who never tried the OZ lounge naturally wouldn't vote for it.

Thanks for the long input. Nevertheless, it is a poor argument.

First, PP survey says much about the overall airport lounges at ICN accounting to the fact that all airport lounges at ICN with the exception of KE lounge at the main terminal and CX lounge at Concourse A participate PP. PP survey might be meaningless for some airports but ICN.

Second, you do not know the selection process as you said, so how could you assume that people were allowed to pick only one? They could have picked multiple, or they were supposed to rate any lounge that they have visited on 10-point scale. There are numerous methods to take survey, but your example considered just one method. Hence what you argued in the fourth paragraph does not stand valid at all. BTW, KE lounge at the main terminal is not available for PP members.

Third, there is no way more people could have tried the KE lounge at Concourse A than the OZ lounges at the main terminal and Concourse A. Given the nature that all PP members have access to OZ lounge at the main terminal while KE lounge and OZ lounge at Concourse A can be accessed by only those who depart from Concourse A, far more PP members should have used either of the OZ lounges than the KE lounge.

This survey should have been published using statistics with reasonable sampling size while considering sampling error. In any case, this is more dependable than what A Lee says. Finally, we can refer a source now if some FTers happen to ask which lounge is the best at ICN.

How not to get over with OZ! Surely, you know the answer.;)
After so long years,,,,,,,,....... Must have been a first love( of "airline"):o

There's a whole lot I could say about your post, but given your obvious agenda, I won't bother to spend a lot of time responding to a bunch of nonsense. Two points though.

I checked the PriorityPass website and there are a total of seven lounges available for use at ICN, including two Hub lounges and two Madina lounges. So your assertion that there couldn't be more people who tried the concourse KE lounge compared to the OZ lounge has no basis in fact. Being KE is the predominant carrier at ICN, and the OZ lounge is on the opposite (OZ) side of the terminal, it is much more logical to assume that KE passengers would go to a PP lounge on the KE side, and not the OZ lounge.

You very often badmouth OZ. You have never once written a positive comment about OZ that I've seen. You always praise KE. I'm not sure why you have such a bias. Perhaps you work for KE, or a family member does. Whatever the case, your opinion in my view is absolutely worthless given your history showing your extreme bias. Given that, and your defense of the PP survey without detailed knowledge of their survey method, then using your logic, OZ is a much better airline than KE. Reason being, OZ has consistently outdone KE in the SkyTrax survey, and is consistently awarded 5 stars, yet KE I don't think has yet to get 5 stars. So can I assume we won't see you badmouthing OZ anymore being the survey must prove it's better than KE? Time to put your blatant agenda to rest!

Bring it on. :rolleyes:




If you can read English, go back and read my post again. I said I did NOT say To rephrase, what I said was {the number of PP visitors at KE lounge at Concourse A} < {the number of PP visitors at both OZ lounges at ICN}

What you understood was {the number of PP visitors at KE lounge at Concourse A} < {the number of PP visitors at OZ lounge at Concourse A}

Note that I did not say "either" of the OZ lounges.

I hope you did not use such logic on your math exams when you were in school.

Then your argument jump to the main terminal where KE lounge is not available to PP members, and you call me my post a bunch of nonsense. :rolleyes:

At Concourse A, KE and OZ should get equal amount of PP visitors due to the proximity. While it is true that pax departing on KE flights may be more inclined to use a PP lounge in the east side, mind you that the number of PP members visiting KE lounge in the main terminal is 0.

BTW, what was your basis for mentioning this in post #7?
I just don't understand how one KE lounge at Concourse A can ever get more PP visitors than two OZ lounges at the main terminal and Concourse A. As a matter of fact, I would be surprised if KE lounge at Concourse A gets more PP members than OZ lounge at the main terminal since there are more pax departing from the main terminal than Concourse A. Had it been KE lounge at the main terminal, not Concourse A, your argument might have been slightly more convincing though. If you could say a whole lot about my post, please integrate both logics and facts into your arguments. You are not in the position to call my post a bunch of nonsense when yours is truly so.




In one sentence; we are discussing about the lounges at ICN, right? So why does SkyTrax come here? Cool down your hothead and stay on the topic.

Before opening your mouth, it might be wise to take a look at the Priority Pass lounges at ICN and where they're located.

In the main terminal, west wing, there's a Matina lounge, Hub lounge, and Asiana lounge.
In the main terminal, east wing, there's a Matina lounge and Hub lounge.
In the concourse, there's an Asiana lounge and a KAL lounge.

The main terminal is used only by OZ and KE, with KE being by far the most predominant. Thus in the main terminal, the east wing, where KE is located, is busier than the west wing. Yet the west wing has three PP lounges to divide among a lower number of passengers. In the concourse, where all other airlines are located, I'd estimate about an equal number of airlines/passengers on either side. However the KAL and OZ lounges there are located in the middle, very close to each other, so actually it doesn't matter which side the passenger is departing from, as either lounge would be convenient.

The 2009 PP Asia-Pacific lounge of the year was the east wing Hub lounge. So if you're a PP member, and in the main terminal, and aware of this award, you're likely going to want to try that lounge, or maybe the west wing Hub lounge. Furthermore, if you've read at all the OZ FT forum, you'd realize that the OZ lounge in the main terminal can be severely overcrowded at times. I do not know what the policy is of the lounge, but would not at all be surprised if they recommended that PP members use one of the alternative Hub or Matina lounges when the OZ lounge is at capacity. It could be that they'd even refuse customers. I personally have visited all three of the PP lounges on the west wing, and I'd choose the Hub lounge over the OZ lounge. The lounge is very spacious with plenty of seating and a better food selection than the OZ lounge. So it is very possible that this OZ lounge gets only a small percent of the total PP customers at ICN.

If all things were equal, you'd expect the PP lounge customers at the concourse to be equally divided between the two lounges. Again though, one major factor could be that the main concourse KAL lounge was selected as a PP lounge of the year in the past. Anyone who was a member then might assume that the same situation holds true now, and that the KAL lounge is better than the OZ lounge, based on the voting from years past. In fact, KAL lounges were so well known within the PP community that some passengers might not even be aware that OZ lounges are now also PP lounges.

Another factor that could affect passenger numbers is the mere fact that in looking at the nationality of passengers at ICN, Koreans are in the majority, and Koreans in general show a high degree of partiality to KE over OZ. PP is well marketed in Korea, and included free with many Korean issued credit cards, so it's safe to say that there's a fairly large number of Korean PP customers at ICN. If a Korean PP customer was in the concourse and given a choice of which lounge to use, the OZ or KAL lounge, I'd be willing to bet money that a significant majority would choose the KAL lounge based solely on the fact that it's operated by KAL, even without knowing anything about either of the actual lounges.

Now I think any logical person could see that based on the above facts that it is entirely possible that the concourse KAL lounge COULD get more customers than the OZ lounges. I'm not saying that it definitely does, I'm just stating that it is a POSSIBILITY. I've provided plenty of evidence to back up my position. You on the other hand made the ridiculous statement that this situation is impossible. Please provide some evidence to back up your claim. Of course you can't, but I challenge you to give it a shot.

Regardless of how many passengers go to one lounge, it doesn't really matter. I was only bringing up several possibilities of how the PP survey could be flawed. Just as likely though it could be accurate. But we really don't know because we don't know the details about how that lounge was choosen. Either way, does it really make a difference? Sure quote the PP survey all you want, but without detailed knowledge of their selection process, it's merely only another opinion. Some of us will agree with it and some won't. If you're a PP member and at the ICN concourse and need to choose between one of the lounges, pop your head into one, then go to the other side and pop your head into the other and make a decision which one looks best to you personally. If blindly choose a lounge simply because of the PP survey, or N227UA's opinion, or A_Lee's opinion, you might be disappointed. It's not rocket science, it's simply one's personal opinion of a lounge.


My reason for bringing up the SkyTrax survey is because you attempted to use this PP survey as way to try to personally attack me and my personal opinion that the KAL lounge interior design is horrible. Somehow you think that because PP members chose the KAL lounge, that means A_Lee's opinion is worthless. So by your same logic, I'm showing that because the SkyTrax survey shows OZ as a 5-star airline, and KE isn't, that means N227UA's opinion about OZ is worthless. Of course, I don't agree with that logic. Unlike you, I realize that some people like OZ over KE, and some the reverse. The same with the KAL lounge vs. OZ lounge. Some prefer one, and some prefer the other. Quoting the surveys are fine and a good data point, but to take the survey as the final word, or to use a survey in an attempt at character assasination of another's opinion is being foolish and I don't think appreciated by the majority of FT members.

I don't go on and on about my perceived negatives of an airline. I visited the KAL lounge once, hated it, posted my opinion, and basically forgot about it. In general I like KE. I like OZ even better, but I don't bash KE in an attempt to make OZ look better. I don't continue to bash any airline, even if I have an extremely low opinion of the airline. Posting one's experience, positive or negative, I believe is appreciated by almost all the members. Continuous negative posts about an airline, such as your negative posts about OZ, I believe are not appreciated, especially when they're based on such obvious bias, and evidently have no basis in actual recent experience.

Enough of this though. Continue to post all you want in this thread. I will not respond further if you do. The members of this board deserve better than to see a bunch of nonsense posted by someone who is only trying to push his agenda of promoting one airline over another.

You have to understand that he is still mad at OZ, because of what happened with his OZ ticket purchased from an online travel agent. It's been several years since ........ But his anger has not diminished. Judging from his membership with UA, he may have to fly OZ over KE though. To earn miles, of course.:D
over

Totally invalid. Did you know that 2009 award reflects the opinions taken from 2008, and Concourse A became available in the second half of 2008? In the first half of 2008, both KE and OZ were in the east side of the main terminal. Now this fact totally contradicts your argument, right? Also, note that none of OZ lounges participated PP in the first half of 2008.




Ya dee ya daa. You used too many assumptions here. Did you know that if you take the escalators from the third floor to the fourth floor where the lounges are in the Concourse A, the first thing you see on the fourth floor on your right is Asiana lounge, and Priority Pass sign is there. Meanwhile, KE lounge is the farthest thing away from the escalators on the fourth floor.




Yes, this might be little convincing if and only if we were to compare the number of PP members vising the lounges in Concourse A. But as I said, how about the number of PP members in OZ lounge in the main terminal? With using less assumptions than you, I would say Korean people are more likely to choose either KE and OZ, so the proportion of Korean people to foreigners should be higher in the main terminal than in Concourse A. Since it is so easy to get PP card in S. Korea (the cheapest credit card with PP only costs USD50 or so), there should be a fair number of PP members at any time of the day. Then OZ lounge in the main terminal should be getting a good portion of those members. Also, compare the size of OZ lounge in the main terminal and KE lounge in Concourse A.




What you stated above are assumptions, not facts. So any logical people would see that your argument is heavily faulted.




It matters since this survey can be cited as a source if some FTers were to ask which lounge is the best at ICN.




Sir or ma'am, please do not digress from the topic. The topic of this thread is lounge just in case if you forgot.

BTW, I did not personally attack you nor your opinion. Wonder what made you think like that. The problem is the way you think is full of presumptions. In similar notion, we elect a president out of a few candidates based on votes from many people. If the person you chose not get elected, do you say that your opinion is worthless? Compare this to what you stated above. Did I say that your opinion was worthless or did you presume that I said your opinion was worthless?

If I really did attack you or your opinion, please quote. I would sincerely apologize if and only if this happened.




That someone will not respond further because he/she cannot make any more story based on huge assumptions without digressing from the topic, right?