OneWorld alliance also has its first lounge: opened its doors in Seoul
Last week the first lounge of the oneworld alliance opened its doors. Unlike Skyteam and Star Alliance, which [...]
Oneworld
ICN
Last week the first lounge of the oneworld alliance opened its doors. Unlike Skyteam and Star Alliance, which already have lounges around the world, this was not the case for oneworld.
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The alliance formed by 13 companies, including British Airways, Qatar and American Airlines was until now the only one not to offer its elite customers a lounge at airports not served by proprietary lounges.
The point of these alliance-owned lounges is to accommodate premium passengers at airports primarily used by competing carriers. It happens this way, for example, with the lounges Vancouver Skyteam (where Air Canada/Star Alliance commands) or Istanbul (home of Turkish/Star Alliance). The same goes for Star Alliance lounges in Buenos Aires. or Los Angeles.
The first lounge is in Seoul
Saturday, January 20 oneworld has opened its first airport lounge at Incheon International Airport. This year's opening coincides with the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the alliance. The lounge will be operated by Swissport International AG on behalf of oneworld, which is nothing new for Swissport since it currently operates lounges worldwide under the Aspire brand.
"With oneworld celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, we are proud to open the first oneworld-branded lounge experience for customers of our member airlines," said Gerhard Girkinger, oneworld vice president for customer experience, delivery and enrollment, during the opening ceremony.
Seven of oneworld's 13 member airlines., namely Malaysia Airlines, American Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Qantas, Qatar Airways, and SriLankan Airlines, currently serve Incheon Airport. Altogether they operate more than 60 flights a week from Seoul, Until now, elite or business class passengers were accommodated in some independent lounges at the airport.
"Our new Incheon lounge redefines the benchmark for travel will serve as a model for future oneworld lounges at selected airports around the world, and the next one will arrive by the end of 2024," Girkinger pointed out.
Located after the immigration and security checkpoints at Terminal 1 Of Incheon Airport, the new lounge covers 555 square meters and can accommodate more than 140 passengers. The lounge is open daily from 7:30 a.m. to 11:45 p.m. (except Monday and Saturday, when it opens at 4:30 a.m.) and is accessible to oneworld business and first class travelers, as well as oneworld Emerald and Sapphire loyalty status frequent flyers.
Judging from the pictures, it looks like oneworld has done a really nice job, and I can't wait to be able to get into this lounge.
