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Part 5: Seoul-Incheon Airport Asiana Business Class Lounge
We had to depart for the trains on the floor below and got on a train to the main terminal for customs/immigration or transfer to the departure area. I arrived right after a Japanese tour showed up for the Asiana flight to Siem Riep making the wait about twenty minutes since we had to clear security again and they had one line/metal detector/conveyor belt on.
After I went through security, I went up to the departure level and checked in the Asiana Transfer desk to trade out my temporary boarding pass from Lufthansa. I tried to find whole coffee beans once again but was only able to find a Starbucks (passed that up) and ground coffee. I inquired at the information desk only to find out that the item is available in the other portion of the airport where I did not access for entrance (probably in the departure area for the non-Korean airlines). I settled on not getting too much worked up on it and headed towards the Asiana Business Class lounge.
Once I checked-in with the receptionist, I got the key for a shower room. I had been assigned seat 2F which was a window seat despite the fact that I requested seat 2B or 2E for aisle access. I asked the agent if I could switch but she told me the cabin was full (which I found out was not the truth upon boarding). I had so much goodies left over from all my amenity kits, pajamas, slippers, and toiletries that I had to ask for a plastic bag to alleviate the crowdedness in my carry-on baggage. The lounge was small but adequate… then again will seem small when compared to what I had at the First Class Terminal. Afterwards, I went to the main lounge, grabbed a seat and surfed on the internet/checked email/ blogged for a bit. Wifi did not require a password and the signal was pretty good from where I was sitting the entire time.
The lounge is pretty big but then again, Asiana only has one First and one Business lounge in their main hub, so it needs to be big to accommodate all their passengers and those other Alliance members who are Star Gold as well. Asiana operated their gates and lounges on the left part of the terminal while Korean Air operated the other side. When I finally settled in and grabbed a bite to eat, I had about four hours left to go before departure.
The food selection was slim… offerings included: chips, pretzels, corn, lettuce, breads, porridge, Ramen Noodle bowels, finger sandwiches, and cold spaghetti. A sign up later placed to indicate that salad and hot entrees will be served after 6PM local time. The drink selections were: Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite, Milk, Coffee/Cappuccino/Espresso, cold coffee drink, beer, bottled water, and green tea.
Once I checked-in with the receptionist, I got the key for a shower room. I had been assigned seat 2F which was a window seat despite the fact that I requested seat 2B or 2E for aisle access. I asked the agent if I could switch but she told me the cabin was full (which I found out was not the truth upon boarding). I had so much goodies left over from all my amenity kits, pajamas, slippers, and toiletries that I had to ask for a plastic bag to alleviate the crowdedness in my carry-on baggage. The lounge was small but adequate… then again will seem small when compared to what I had at the First Class Terminal. Afterwards, I went to the main lounge, grabbed a seat and surfed on the internet/checked email/ blogged for a bit. Wifi did not require a password and the signal was pretty good from where I was sitting the entire time.
The food selection was slim… offerings included: chips, pretzels, corn, lettuce, breads, porridge, Ramen Noodle bowels, finger sandwiches, and cold spaghetti. A sign up later placed to indicate that salad and hot entrees will be served after 6PM local time. The drink selections were: Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite, Milk, Coffee/Cappuccino/Espresso, cold coffee drink, beer, bottled water, and green tea.
They had five rest areas with massage chairs that people took advantage of as it seemed to be always occupied. I managed to snag a seat and relaxed for an hour while the chair did its job. I drifted in and out of sleep as the chair was set on 15 minute cycles watching planes take off. I listened and caught up on podcasts that I wanted to listen again since I now have a good amount of Skyteam and Star Alliance miles in my accounts. Dinner was served and the only thing that could pass for real food versus a snack was fettuccini carbonara which I grabbed a helping alone with another bottle of water. I lounged in a big chair for the duration of the time listening to podcast and watching a golf tournament on TV. My boarding time of 8PM seemed like a long ways away but I had to stop by the big massage chairs again for another cycle before heading off to gate 47 for my flight.
I waited around until it was boarding time which when they announced that everyone in Business class, Star Alliance Gold members, disabled people, and those with small children could all board. There was a mass exodus towards the boarding onto the jet bridge. They took the portion of the boarding pass and left me with a stub (pet peeve of mine) and I learned that I was only 1 of 2 passengers in the Business cabin. I was surprised that the flight attendant let me store all my baggage in the overhead bins (despite the fact that I thought it would be a full cabin). The other seat taken was 1A by a Korean gentleman. The cabin manager came by to greet me and thanked me for flying with them this evening.
Everyone I came into in the Incheon airport would mistook me for a Korean and I would answer/ask them in English. Most of the people were pretty helpful and nice to me during my transit visit. I was a little disappointed with the airport overall as I thought it would be someone thing a big more (Singapore Changi Airport has a slide and a movie theatre in the airport) since Incheon is consistently one of the top three airports rated by Skytrax. I will have to come back another time in the future to fully appreciate the architecture of the airport and perhaps fly on Korean Air long-haul to experience the full Korean
Everyone I came into in the Incheon airport would mistook me for a Korean and I would answer/ask them in English. Most of the people were pretty helpful and nice to me during my transit visit. I was a little disappointed with the airport overall as I thought it would be someone thing a big more (Singapore Changi Airport has a slide and a movie theatre in the airport) since Incheon is consistently one of the top three airports rated by Skytrax. I will have to come back another time in the future to fully appreciate the architecture of the airport and perhaps fly on Korean Air long-haul to experience the full Korean
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