Because Korean Airlines’ hub, Incheon International Airport, is such a massive space, Korean Airlines operates two separate Prestige Class (Korean’s term for business class) lounges to allow passengers to choose the option that’s closer to their gate. Before my recent flight from Seoul to Paris, I had a chance to visit the Korean Airlines Prestige Class Lounge West before my flight, but unfortunately didn’t have enough time to check out the Prestige Class Lounge East. There’s always next time!
First Impressions of the Korean Airlines Prestige Class West Lounge
I’m not sure if it was the jetlag or the construction or the inadequate signage, or some combination of the three but it was quite difficult to find the lounge and I found myself riding and descending an elevator a number of times. Finally, I made my way into the lounge, scanned my boarding pass and walked over to the luggage room where I wanted to deposit my suitcase. There were about a half-dozen lockers available, of differing size, and all you have to do is put in a four-digit code to lock and unlock the lockers. It’s always nice to get rid of your bags so that you don’t have to worry about wheeling your suitcase through the food and drink line.
There was ample seating and plenty of electrical outlets as well. It was fairly busy but didn’t feel crowded and it was not difficult to find a place to sit and work for a while. I bellied up to the bar and enjoyed breakfast while doing some people watching.
The Korean Airlines Prestige Lounge Food and Drink Offerings
There is a large buffet with a good selection of both Western and Korean specialties. But perhaps my two favorite aspects of the food and beverage offerings were the Shin Ramyun noodle wall and the robotic beer dispenser. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a chance to try either of these as it was a bit too early in the morning to sample either one.
Instead, I built myself a rice bowl with kimchi radish, seaweed, mushrooms, green, and gochujang. The shrimp and sprouts looked tempting, but I’m on the conservative side when it comes to eating in places like this so I let them pass. I don’t typically eat multi-grain rice, but when it comes to Korean food, it’s pretty much the only time I will make an exception. I washed it down with some seaweed stew and coupled with the coffees I’d had to start (love that they were using Starbucks beans in the espresso machine) it was a breakfast of champions.
There was a staffed bar (no champagne but yes Hennessy) but the bartender was not getting much work given the time. Bacardi, Gordon, Smirnoff, Jack Daniels, and Jose Cuervo were the liquors on hand along with some wines that I was not familiar with. There was also Stella Artois, Cass (a Korean brew), and Budweiser (the American one, not the Czech one) on tap. The self-dispensing beer machine was doling out Stella Artois and Terra (another Korean beer).
The Bottom Line
Most of the time when you are flying in business class, you only have one option for the lounge that your ticket will get you into. However, the more and more you fly in business class, the more lounges you are able to compare against. The Korean Prestige Class West Lounge was one of the nicest options I’ve visited in recent memories. The food, albeit simple, was fantastic and something I would have been happy receiving in a restaurant.
One tip if you are planning on spending some time in the lounge. Make sure you leave plenty of time to get to your gate ahead of boarding. Some of the gates at Incheon are almost comically far from the lounge, given how big Incheon is.
You can book flights in business class on Korean Airlines and gain access to the Korean Prestige Class Lounge by using Air France/KLM FlyingBlue miles. Flying Blue is a partner of Chase, and a welcome bonus from the Chase Sapphire Ultimate card will bring you close to a one-way business class flight.