When Korean Air moved from terminal 1 to terminal 2 at Seoul Incheon airport, it opened four new lounges in the new terminal. Besides a first class lounge and a “Miler Club Lounge” for its own elite members flying in business or first class, it also opened a pair of business class lounges.
Prior to catching my flight to Tokyo earlier this year, I had a chance to check out KAL Lounge Prestige Class West, the larger of the two business class lounges.
Read the review below to see what the lounge was like.
Location, Opening Hours & Access
All of the Korean Air lounges in Incheon’s terminal 2 are located airside, on the fourth floor – i.e. one floor above the main departures level. The KAL Lounge Prestige Class West can be accessed using an escalator near gate 249.
The lounge is open from 4AM until 12AM every day.
Naturally, Korean Air’s business class and first class passengers have access into the lounge.
Korean Air’s Morning Calm Premium and Million Miler Club status holders can access the lounge when flying in economy class as well. When flying in business and first class, they can also access the higher-end Miler Club Lounge as well.
The airline’s non-status holders can access the lounge for 4,000 miles.
Besides Korean Air’s own passengers, the KAL Lounge Prestige Class can also be accessed by passengers departing on other SkyTeam members’ flights out of terminal 2. They can do so if they are flying in business or first class, or if they hold a SkyTeam Elite Plus status.
Lounge Tour
Right past the lounge’s reception, there were luggage lockers of various sizes.
The short hallway leading into the actual lounge also featured a flight information display and a rack with some newspapers and magazines.
As for the lounge itself, it was made of a large main seating area and a few other smaller areas.
Starting near the entrance, there was a counter with half a dozen or so seats.
There were also more private, bench-like seats perfect for solo travelers. I spent my time in the lounge using one of those.
Besides that, the main seating area featured dozens of sofa chairs. While they were mostly arranged in “uninspiring” rows, at least there were a couple of different designs of chairs to add a bit of variety.
The main seating area also featured a number of semi-circular partitions with benches, counters, and other seating set up along them.
Partitioned off from the main seating area was a communal TV room with a large screen and few rows of sofa chairs.
The dining area was on the right side (when looking from the entrance) of the lounge.
Besides a number of counters across which the food and drink options were spread out, there were also a couple of communal tables and a staffed bar.
Finally, the lounge featured a pair of private TV rooms each with some ottomans and a screen – those were ideal for families that wanted some privacy – and a larger quiet room.
The quiet room was equipped with lounging (and a couple of massage) chairs surrounded by privacy shields.
Food and Drinks
All of the food and drinks in the KAL Lounge West could be found in the buffet area and at the adjacent bar.
Starting with the drinks in the buffet area, there were juice dispensers (orange, apple, and tomato), soda machines, milk, and water.
There were also a coffee machine and a small selection of teas. And, there was a pair of automatic beer dispensers – one serving Bud and the other Max.
The same brands of beer, as well as some wine and liquor, were available at the bar. While it seemed like the bar is staffed, it was self-serve at the time of my visit. That’s likely because I was in the lounge early in the morning.
As for bites to eat, there were some snacks – namely nuts and pretzels – at the bar.
More substantial items could be found at the buffet.
Cold items available at the buffet included yogurts, cheese, bananas, cereals, three different salads, and some pastries.
Finally, even though it was breakfast time, there were also some warm dishes including porridge, fried rice, sausages, chicken stew, and fried pork.
KAL Lounge Prestige Class West Seoul Incheon Summary
While I am not sure how the lounge is during other times of the day, when I visited it in the morning, it was quite crowded. Not to the point where getting a seat was a challenge, but it certainly had an effect on the ambiance.
For me personally, some “cubicles” – spaces private and comfortable enough to get some work done – would have solved the problem. There were none of those, unfortunately.
All that said, the lounge was fairly average. The seating was nothing to write home about – but at the same time not worse than many other airline lounges, the food was nothing special but sufficient as well.
To sum it up, while I would visit the lounge again, I would not be heading to the lounge with the purpose of getting some work done or relaxing before a flight. Instead, I would only visit it if I had no other choice. I would certainly not pay (miles) to enter the lounge.
Since I haven’t visited the Priority Pass options in the terminal yet, I can’t comment how they compare. However, if those in terminal 2 are anything like those in terminal 1, then there might be better options than the KAL Lounge.
