ICN Asiana Lounge Update
 

Half good news folks, ICN OZ lounge will be less crowded in main terminal as they are no longer accepting PP holders. Concourse A is still accessible with PP.

They are still letting people holding Mastercard (World, Diamond, Platinum, Titanium) issued by banks and credit card companies in Korea to both main terminal and concourse A. :confused:

Looks like they now know there are too many PP holders in Korea. ^

This is great news for those who use the main terminal OZ C lounge. Nice to see OZ finally realized what a mistake it was in the first place to let PP members in there.

Do you know is this already in effect or will it be effective as of some future date? In September I'll be departing ICN on TG in C as part of a party of four. Utilizing my D+ status, I can use the F lounge along with one guest, so was hoping for two of us to get into the main terminal F lounge and two next door in the C lounge. But if it's still overcrowded at that time with PP members, it might be better for all four of us to head directly to the concourse C lounge. Unfortunately the concourse F lounge closes at 19:30, and we'll only be arriving at about that time so the concourse F lounge won't be an option, and I'd rather not split up the group between the concourse and main terminal being it's the first time for two of them to be flying.

This policy is currently in effect. As of now, PP holders are not able to enter main terminal OZ C lounge. Concourse A OZ C and KE lounges are still designated as PP lounges which is still nonsense in my opinion.

I have found it interesting to watch how blatantly Korea discriminates between domestic and foreign airlines in terms of gates (main vs. satellite.) Now it's being extended to PP holders - stay out of the main terminal (KE & OZ), go to the foreign satellite you low-life !!! I know other countries do something similar (thinking Paris CDG) but it's too obvious in Korea !

A person cannot go to satellite (concourse A) without a valid foreign airlines boarding pass hence anyone with PP flying KE or OZ still have access to HUB and Matina lounges in the main terminal which are quite good in my opinion. Food wise, definitely better than KE C and OZ C lounges.

Not really sure whether it's a discrimination by assigning foreign airlines to Concourse A. I don't mind taking airport train from main terminal to Concourse A :D

Agree with lee_apromise, at least for the HUB lounge food being better than the OZ and KE C lounges. It's certainly way better than any typical PP lounge.

In the Concourse terminal, what other options would there be for a PP lounge? I think the current situation is reasonable there, and I've personally never seen the OZ C lounge in the concourse to be overcrowded. For foreign carrier transit passengers, they cannot even go to the main terminal, and need some sort of PP lounge in the concourse. AFAIK, there is no HUB, Matina, or similar non-airline lounge there that could be used by PP.

I don't think it's any sort of discrimination. It's simply that the OZ C lounge in the main terminal is at over capacity at peak times and allowing PP members in just made the problem much worse. I think that is the only factor that went into the reasoning for making the decision, and it was a very wise decision in my opinion.

Many Korean issued premium credit and debit accounts (with only about a 100,000W yearly fee) include a Priority Pass membership.

Nevermind.

This forum answers my question why I saw many people in the Piano lounge at ICN.
I must say that the lounge is worn out. Most of the seating and sofa are in bad conditions, dirty and torn.

Evening rush hour is probably the worst time of the day. I never get the hot dinner since it ran out again and again with hundreds of people waiting to grab! I gave up.

Which lounge should I head for when I travel thru ICN? All flights are in biz
Arriving from SFO on UA connecting on OZ to SYD - which lounge?
Arriving from SYD on OZ connecting on OZ to LAX - which lounge?
Thx

With your biz ticket, you will have access to the business lounge at ICN. There aren't any others you can choose from.

You don't have any choice in the matter. You can only use the OZ C lounge in the main terminal. When you arrive on your UA flight, you will take the train to the main terminal and then go through the transit checkpoint and up to the departure level. When arriving on your OZ flight, just walk to the transit checkpoint and up the the departure level.

The concourse terminal is only for foreign carriers, so you cannot access it, nor the OZ C lounge there.

I visited the Asiana First Lounge both in the main terminal and the satellite last week. The one in the main terminal was not crowded at all and good choice of food and beverage. (I was there in the morning). I did not experience it as "in bad condition, dirty and torn" per above. I thought it had quite a classy feel to it - I was sitting in the chairs near the windows. (The annoying bit was the walled off service walkway between the chair and the window.)

I then went to the one in the satellite. Much smaller of course but the food and beverage offerings seemed to be the same to me. The lounge does not have a classy atmosphere as the one in the main terminal. And it was crowded.

I did not have anyone check my boarding pass as I was going to the escalators to the train to the satellite. It's always been done before, but not this time.

In October, I will be passing through ICN, coming in from Hangzhou, China on CA 139 connecting to OZ 214 to SFO, all in business. I have almost 5 hours between flights.

Which lounge should I hang out in? Will there be lunch being served in the lounge or should I go out into the terminal for something to eat? Is there free wifi in the lounge? I'm not at all familiar with ICN so I do not know which terminals my flights will come in to and go out of.

You will arrive at the Concourse Terminal. Do not go to the transfer counter there, being you're departing on OZ, which does not use the Concourse Terminal. Rather follow most everyone else and take the train to the Main Terminal. There, rather than going through immigration, go to the transfer counter, and up one level. Then locate the signs for the OZ lounge, which are up one additional level. Your only choice is the OZ C lounge there.

If you are there about noon time, there will be hot food served in the lounge. I'm not quite sure what the hours are, but it's a very short time period, and you'd be wise to standby near the food area and grab what you can when it first comes out. If you wait too late, it'll all be gone and they only replenish it up to whatever the amount is that they prepare. They will not prepare any more hot food regardless of how many people didn't get any. My guess would be that the hot food will first come out about 11:30, but not exactly sure. Certainly though by 12:00 I'd think.