It’s taken a while, but the Oneworld alliance has finally become the last of the major three global airline partnerships to open its own dedicated branded airport lounge, with a new facility at Seoul Incheon Airport in South Korea opening its doors this week.

Pre-COVID plans were made for Oneworld to launch its first branded lounge in Moscow, but world events somewhat derailed that one.

The Seoul lounge will be the first of two Oneworld lounges opening this year, with the other in an as-yet-undisclosed location, though we’re fairly certain Singapore isn’t on the list.

Oneworld Seoul Lounge

The new Oneworld lounge in Seoul has taken over the space previously occupied by Jeju Air’s JJ Lounge in Terminal 1 at Incheon Airport, on the 4th floor near Gate 28.

Welcome to our first oneworld branded airport lounge recently opened in Seoul.

Situated in Terminal 1 of Incheon International Airport, this bright new lounge is a short 10-minute walk from the furthest oneworld airlines’ departure gates.

This new contemporary airport lounge experience provides oneworld customers with vibrant and calming space to recharge, relax, and dine before their flight.

Oneworld

The facility has certainly had a complete makeover, hardly recognisable compared to its design and finish as the former JJ lounge.

A contemporary, futuristic design by Amsterdam-based creative studio D/DOCK now greets passengers, with a modern, futuristic finish that reminds us most closely of Oneworld carrier Finnair’s home base lounge in Helsinki.

The lounge is a collaboration between Oneworld, ground services provider Swissport and European lounge operator Aspire.

Oneworld says the lounge “will serve as the blueprint for future Oneworld lounges in select airports around the world”.

Just beyond the entrance corridor a tended bar takes centrepiece, in front of the terminal’s floor-to-ceiling windows with runway views.

This looks to be a great go-to for a pre-flight tipple, and according to Executive Traveller the bar will be tended from 3.30pm each afternoon, through to closing time.

Beyond the bar, a self-serve buffet and drinks section is available.

The lounge then extends into a variety of seating areas among what the alliance calls “distinct zones”, with options for work, socialising and dining.

There’s also a pair of workstations with closing glass privacy doors, in case you need to make calls or have video meetings.

One aspect of the lounge that might shock you is its size – it’s certainly on the small side.

Coming in at 555 square metres (around 6,000 square feet), it has a seating capacity for only 148 guests.

That makes it around half the size of the British Airways lounge in Singapore, or around 80% of the size of the Qatar Airways Singapore Premium lounge – one of the smallest at Changi.

Nonetheless Oneworld has still managed to include two showers in the lounge, ideal for those who need to freshen up before a potentially long flight, like the American Airlines 12 hour 30 minute haul to Dallas each evening.

Lounge access

The new Oneworld lounge in Seoul is available to the following passengers departing on a Oneworld member operated flight:

• in First Class (+1 guest)
• in Business Class (no guests)
• in any class, holding Oneworld Emerald or Sapphire status (+1 guest)

In all cases your guest (where permitted) must be travelling on a Oneworld member operated flight, though unlike with Star Alliance this does not have to be the same flight as you.

Access is also available to those departing in any class of travel who are connecting between Oneworld marketed and operated flights on the same day of travel, or before 6am the following day, having arrived in First Class or Business Class with a scheduled flight time longer than 5 hours.

You are required to retain your boarding card from the arriving long-haul flight for lounge access in this case.

Opening hours

The lounge is open daily from 7.30am to 11.45pm, with the exception of Mondays and Saturdays, where an earlier 4.30am opening applies.

That earlier opening time twice per week accommodates those departing on SriLankan Airlines to Colombo at 7am, who will almost certainly have the lounge all to themselves for a couple of hours.

Here’s a summary of the Oneworld departures from Seoul Incheon, whose passengers will be eligible to use the new lounge, based on February 2024 schedules.

Oneworld departures from Seoul Incheon
February 2024

Flight		Departs	To	Days
	UL471	07:00	CMB	Mon, Sat
	CX417	10:10	HKG	Daily
	MH67	11:05	KUL	Daily
	UL471	12:15	CMB	Wed
	CX453	13:50	HKG	Mon, Tue, Wed, Sat
	CX411	15:00	HKG	Daily
	AA280	18:35	DFW	Daily
	CX419	19:35	HKG	Daily
	QF88	22:10	SYD	Mon, Tue, Thu, Sat
	AY42	23:00	HEL	Daily
	QR859	00:15	DOH	Daily

As you can see, Oneworld departures from Seoul are quite well-spaced throughout the day – there is typically at least an hour between each flight – so the lounge should never become particularly crowded, despite its small size.

Isn’t there a Oneworld lounge in Los Angeles?

Yes and no.

While is is marketed as a Oneworld lounge, the facility in Los Angeles is actually a Qantas lounge, managed by the airline’s partner Accor-Sofitel, and shared with other carriers like Cathay Pacific and British Airways.

This new lounge in Seoul is owned by Oneworld, which will also be the case for the alliance’s future branded lounges at other airports.

Will Singapore get a Oneworld lounge?

Unlikely.

While Singapore Changi Airport plays host to no fewer than eight Oneworld carriers, it also has no shortage of airline-operated Oneworld lounges in Terminals 1 and 4, which already cater to eligible travellers.

These include options from British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, while Qatar Airways also has its own lounge that isn’t open to Oneworld frequent flyers, but does invite those departing in Business Class or First Class on a Oneworld airline to enter.

Seven Oneworld carriers at Seoul Incheon, on the other hand, were previously using a mishmash of third-party lounges to cater for elite and premium cabin passengers, making it a logical choice for an alliance-operated facility like this one.

This concept works at airports with several Oneworld airlines operating, but no single one with a significant enough presence to justify offering its own lounge.

Oneworld apparently sees the opportunity for its own branded lounges at 15-30 airports globally, so we’ll have to wait and see where is next on the list, with Amsterdam being the rumoured second location later this year.

It’s great to see Oneworld finally get its first dedicated shared lounge concept off the ground with this new facility in Seoul.

The alliance is playing catchup somewhat with Star Alliance and SkyTeam, both of whom have already rolled out the concept in several locations.

This lounge is small but certainly looks the part with its modern, almost futuristic vibe, and we can expect a similar design as Oneworld rolls out further shared lounges at as many as 15-30 airports globally in the coming years.

(Cover Photo: Oneworld)