oneworld Opens Its 1st Alliance Operated Lounge In Seoul Incheon Airport

Passengers travelling with a oneworld allied airline from Seoul’s Incheon International Airport (ICN) have a chic new space to relax before departure. Located in Terminal 1, the exclusively oneworld branded lounge offers an expansive and stylish layout created in development with Swissport and its Aspire Lounge team.

Sitting pretty

Initially announced for Domodedovo Airport (DME) in Moscow in 2019, the home of now-suspended member S7 Airlines, ongoing sanctions against Russia left oneworld scrambling for an alternative location for its first alliance-wide lounge.

In September, rumors began circulating that Seoul had been selected to fill the gap, likely owed to the airport’s coverage by over half of oneworld’s allied carriers. American Airlines, Finnair, Cathay Pacific Airways, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas, Qatar Airways, and SriLankan Airlines connect to Seoul over 60 times per week during peak season, linking the hub with their respective expansive networks.

The new lounge is located close to all oneworld departure gates, providing convenient access for premium passengers, and offers room for up to 148 customers across 555 sqm (5973 sqft) of space. Features include mood lighting, Korean-influenced interior design, and a mix of seating zones to accommodate passengers' needs.

Open to Emerald and Sapphire members and business and first class passengers on oneworld flights, the lounge is accessible Monday to Saturday between 04:30 and 23:45, with a later opening time of 07:30 on Sundays.

In a statement shared on Monday, oneworld’s VP of customer experience, Gerhard Girkinger, praised the alliance’s collaboration on the new lounge ahead of its 25th anniversary later this year. Girkinger added,

“The new oneworld lounge is an exciting next step in our vision to making travel bright. Together with ASPIRE, we have combined refined fixtures and finishes, digital technologies, and warm and ergonomic settings to create smart and memorable travel experiences. Our new Incheon lounge resets the benchmark for contemporary travel and will serve as the blueprint for future oneworld lounges in select airports around the world.”

oneworld growth

Eight oneworld member airlines currently offer flights from Seoul; Cathay Pacific is by far the group’s most prolific operator at the airport, offering over three daily departures between Seoul and Hong Kong International Airport (HKG). Daily flights are provided by American Airlines to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), Finnair to Helsinki Airport (HEL), Malaysia Airlines to Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KUL), and Qatar Airways to Doha Hamad International Airport (DOH).

British Airways previously offered direct services to Seoul from London Heathrow Airport (LHR) until 2020, with flights dropped due to pandemic-induced restrictions. Due to slow growth in the business travel segment, the carrier does not appear to have plans to reinstate the connection before 2025, according to The Telegraph.

The British flag carrier’s former lounge at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport (AMS) appears to be the location of the next oneworld lounge. As reported by Business Traveller, the space, currently closed for renovation, could be set to reopen as a new oneworld lounge. Details are currently scarce, so keep your eyes peeled for potential updates.

What airports would you like to see host a oneworld lounge? Let us know in the comments.

• oneworld

  Business Type: Airline Alliance

  Date Founded: 1999-02-01

  CEO: Rob Gurney

  Headquarters Location: New York, USA

  Airlines: Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas, Qatar Airways, Royal Air Maroc, Royal Jordanian, SriLankan Airlines

• Incheon International Airport

  IATA/ICAO Code: ICN/RKSI

  Country: South Korea

  CEO: Kim Kyung-wook

  Passenger Count : 71,169,516 (2019)

  Runways : 15R/33L - 3,750m (12,303ft) |15L/33R - 3,750m (12,303ft) |16L/34R - 4,000m (13,123ft) |16R/34L - 3,750m (12,303ft)

  Terminals: Terminal 1 |Terminal 2