"Airport lounges are no longer ancillary facilities like in the past but are regarded as the starting point of a journey. That is why we aimed to make the lounge itself one of the purposes of travel. Because it is the first space where customers directly experience Korean Air Lines, we designed it based on Korean identity."
On the 15th at Incheon International Airport Terminal 2 (T2), David Paisey, vice president of Korean Air Lines' catering, equipment, and lounge institutional sector, introduced the newly revamped lounge and said this. He also said lounges at airports worldwide would be designed based on this space.
The Prestige West Lounge, created at Incheon Airport T2 with an area of 2,615 square meters (420 seats), evoked a hanok. Wooden columns and beams were erected in the center of the lounge, and lattice-patterned wood was used as flooring to give the feel of a pavilion with a jangmaru. Korean Air Lines said it made the lounge like the central courtyard of a hanok.
In addition, Korean Air Lines placed large white porcelain and art pieces with mother-of-pearl throughout the lounge and divided spaces with opaque glass that gives the feel of hanji window paper. It also created a separate Korean food corner offering bibimbap, kimbap, tteokbokki, fritters, and banquet noodles to add Korean elements. The lounge will welcome passengers starting at 4 a.m. on the 16th.
Korean Air Lines said it reflected many customer opinions in creating the lounge. At the Prestige East Lounge, which reopened after renovations, it created a "ramen library" stocked with instant ramen cookers and various types of packet ramen, and it also set up various play facilities and spaces for families.
Vice President Paisey said, "We created an arcade space so children can enjoy themselves without running around the lounge, and we are also running a hands-on program in the cooking studio where they make chocolate," adding, "We reflected customers' voices as much as possible in building the lounge to raise satisfaction."
With the revamp of the Prestige West Lounge and the first-class lounge, Korean Air Lines completed three years and six months of T2 lounge development. It invested a total of 110 billion won to establish seven lounges: First Class, Morning Calm Club, Prestige East, Prestige West, Prestige Garden East, and Prestige Garden West.
Korean Air Lines' lounge overhaul was carried out to improve customer satisfaction and prepare for increased customer demand due to integration with Asiana Airlines. To solve the issue of limited lounge space allocated at Incheon Airport, Korean Air Lines even built a separate work space, the Incheon Operations Center (IOC), near the airport and converted office spaces into lounges.
As a result, the total lounge area increased from 5,105 square meters to 12,270 square meters, and the number of seats rose from 898 to 1,566. Vice President Paisey said, "We made sure there would be no issues at all for all customers who wish to use the lounge, including Prestige (business) class customers, Morning Calm tier customers, and those using miles."