Korean Air Lines(003490) is set to operate a Star Alliance lounge at Incheon International Airport's Terminal 1 (T1). Korean Air Lines belongs to the SkyTeam airline alliance. Asiana Airlines(020560) is part of Star Alliance. With no domestic Star Alliance member airline remaining after the merger of the two companies, one lounge that Asiana Airlines will relinquish will be operated as a Star Alliance lounge.
On the 3rd, according to the aviation industry, Korean Air Lines decided to take over and operate the west-side Business Lounge West at Incheon Airport T1, which Asiana Airlines has been operating as a "Star Alliance dedicated lounge." Three other lounges that Asiana Airlines operates in T1 will be run only through the end of this year and then returned.
The lounges that Asiana Airlines operates at T1 have effectively been used as a Star Alliance–only lounge since the company moved its operating terminal at Incheon Airport to Terminal 2 (T2) early this year. Asiana Airlines passengers can use the Korean Air Lines lounge at T2, so there is little reason to use the T1 lounges.
With Korean Air Lines taking over lounge operations, customers flying Star Alliance carriers are expected to continue using lounges at Incheon Airport even after Asiana Airlines ceases to exist. Asiana Airlines will leave Star Alliance on Dec. 16 ahead of its merger with Korean Air Lines.
At Incheon Airport, 13 Star Alliance member airlines operate flights, including Lufthansa, Air Canada, United Airlines, Thai Airways, and Singapore Airlines.
Star Alliance lounges operate in six locations worldwide, including Incheon Airport, Guangzhou in China, Amsterdam in the Netherlands, Los Angeles in the United States, Paris in France, Buenos Aires in Argentina, and Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.
A lounge can be operated even if the operator is not a Star Alliance member airline. The China lounge is operated by the airport authority, and in Argentina an independent lounge operator runs the facility.
The remaining three lounges that Asiana Airlines operates at Incheon Airport T1 will end operations within the year. The Business Lounge East on the east side of T1 will close on the 1st of next month and begin dismantling work. It was originally scheduled to be returned in March this year, but the timeline was pushed back about seven months as consultations with Incheon International Airport Corporation (IIAC) dragged on. Trinity Airways (formerly T'way Air) plans to use the space as a lounge.
The Business Suite Lounge on the east side and the Business Suite Lounge in the center of the departures hall will operate only until the end of this year and then be returned to Incheon International Airport Corporation (IIAC). An aviation industry official said, "Lounge operations, while not large, can generate steady revenue," and noted, "From Korean Air Lines' perspective, there was no need to return everything that Asiana Airlines had been running."