oneworld Alliance Opens Its First Ever Lounge at the Seoul Incheon (ICN) Airport

The oneworld Alliance is a global airline alliance consisting of 13 member airlines and has recently opened its first branded airport lounge in the Seoul Incheon International Airport (ICN). The South Korean lounge opened on Saturday (Jan 20, 2023) and is located in Terminal 1, near Gate 28 (Level 4). The oneworld lounge is open Monday through Saturday from 04:30 to 23:45 (11:45 pm) and Sunday from 07:30 to 23:45 (11:45 pm).

The lounge spans 5,974 square-feet (555 square-meters) and has a capacity for 148 travelers. The lounge caters to oneworld Emerald and Sapphire customers, as well as First Class and Business Class customers on oneworld member airlines.

The opening of the lounge is timed to celebrate the upcoming 25th anniversary of the alliance. oneworld is currently the smallest of the airline alliances by number, after SkyTeam (19) and Star Alliance (26). Even though oneworld is the smallest alliance it does have a vast network of over 600 member lounges around the globe.

The Seoul (ICN) airport has coverage by over half (7) of the oneworld Alliance, including  the carriers American Airlines, Finnair, Cathay Pacific Airways, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas, Qatar Airways, and SriLankan Airlines connect to Seoul over 60 times per week linking the hub with their respective expansive networks.

oneworld collaborated with Swissport and the team behind the group’s ASPIRE lounges. In a statement shared by oneworld’s VP of customer experience, Gerhard Girkinger, praised the alliance’s collaboration on the new lounge.

“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.”

• The lounge features mood lighting, Korean-inspired design, and a mix of seating zones to accommodate passengers' needs.
• The open lounge features floor-to-ceiling windows with airport views.
• The lounge features a full bar, buffet dining, and showers.
• oneworld plans to create similar lounges in select airports worldwide, setting a new benchmark for contemporary travel.

Previously, it was reported that oneworld had initially settled on opening its first airport lounge at Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport in 2020. However, the Covid-19 pandemic and then the Russia-Ukraine conflict canceled those plans. oneworld announced it would be opening other lounges at airports around the world but did not share any details.

Closing Thoughts

This is exciting to see a new player in the lounge space. This lounge looks very nice even though it is on the smallish side. Make sure you have access to the lounge. There are many exclusions listed at the bottom of the oneworld website.