At Korean Air's (003490.KS) Prestige West Lounge in Terminal 2 of Incheon International Airport, visited on the 15th, marble with an antique ambiance greeted visitors at the entrance. The interior featured gold, black, and ivory tones reminiscent of Korean Air's premium cabin classes, creating an elegant atmosphere. Korean Air explained that the lounge was designed to reinterpret traditional Korean architecture using wood and stone, creating a space that evokes the courtyard of a hanok.
The Prestige West Lounge, which began official operations on the 16th, is the largest single lounge at Incheon International Airport at 2,615 square meters, with approximately 420 seats. The live station offers dishes prepared on-site by chefs from Grand Hyatt Incheon, and guests can use wellness rooms equipped with massage devices and shower facilities. Korean Air will also begin official operations of its First Class Lounge, featuring private rooms, starting on the 17th.
With the completion of the First Class and Prestige West lounges, Korean Air has finished its lounge construction project in Terminal 2 at Incheon International Airport. The next-generation lounge development required an investment of 110 billion won and took three and a half years to complete. The total area of the seven lounges spans 12,270 square meters, 2.5 times larger than before, with seating capacity expanded from 898 to 1,566 seats. "We expanded the lounge area and seating capacity to accommodate numerous passengers simultaneously, in preparation for the launch of the merged Korean Air-Asiana Airlines (020560.KS) carrier in December this year," a Korean Air official said.
Korean Air has also reorganized its safety management system ahead of the merger. A 10-minute drive from Incheon Airport to the Unbuk district in Yeongjong-do reveals the Engine Test Cell (ETC) complex, where aircraft engines are inspected. The ETC tests the performance and safety of aircraft engines after maintenance. Korean Air completed its first ETC in 2016 and finished construction of the second ETC last year.
Adjacent to the ETC, construction of Korean Air's new engine maintenance facility expansion was underway. This facility, which will be the largest aviation maintenance complex in Asia, is scheduled to begin operations in 2027. Considering that Hanjin Group will have approximately 300 aircraft after the merger, Korean Air is enhancing its in-house engine maintenance capabilities. Once the expansion is complete, the number of engines Korean Air can maintain annually will increase from the current 134 to 500 by 2030, and the number of engine models it can handle will expand from 6 to 12.
Near the ETC stands Korean Air's Flight Training Center for pilot training. The facility is equipped with 12 Full Flight Simulators (FFS) that replicate cockpit environments for different aircraft types. Korean Air will begin operating basic training programs for pilots of the merged carrier starting this month. "Although Korean Air recently entered emergency management, flight training can never be reduced," said Kim Kang-hyun, head of Korean Air's Flight Training Center and a Boeing 747 captain.
Korean Air is also developing a new training center in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, with an investment of 1.2 trillion won, targeting operations by 2030 to train pilots from both airlines. The plan is to expand to up to 30 FFS units, enabling annual training for more than 20,000 domestic and international pilots.
