In March 2025, Korean Air revealed a major rebranding, which follows the merger between Korean Air and Asiana being finalized. What’s exciting is that changes at the airline go way beyond just branding, as the airline is also investing in the passenger experience, like launching a new first class product, and adding premium economy.
Korean Air is also hugely investing in its premium ground experience at Seoul Incheon Airport (ICN), which includes renovating existing lounges, while also increasing capacity. We’re continuing to see more of these lounges progressively open, so I’d like to cover the full details of the project, and where things stand.
In this post:
Some people think I was being harsh, and they’re of course entitled to feel that way, but I have nothing against the airline. The contrast between Korean Air and some of its rivals is just huge. And it’s not just in one area, but it’s across so many aspects of the experience.
With that in mind, I’m so happy to see that Korean Air seems serious about improving its passenger experience. There’s nothing that would delight me more than to fly with Korean Air in a year or two, and to give the airline a positive review based on improvements that have been made. There are few things I like more than a comeback story.
Heck, I think I’m vindicated, because Korean Air’s own executives have acknowledged that the airline is “behind,” and it’s something they “need to work on.” Last year we heard quite a bit from David Pacey, the carrier’s EVP of Inflight Services and Lounges, and I love what I’m hearing and reading.
He’s remarkably candid in assessing the current state of Korean Air’s product, and that makes me confident that he’ll lead the carrier’s passenger experience in the right direction. Of course that assumes he doesn’t get too much pushback from the CEO, and that the company is actually willing to make the necessary investments.
It’s interesting to me that he has a background in hospitality rather than in aviation. He has spent decades working in the hotel industry in Asia, and I think that’s a really valuable and fresh perspective to have, if you’re trying to make radical changes.
Bottom line
Korean Air is currently investing massively in its passenger experience, and there’s nowhere that’s more necessary than with lounges. The airline is completely overhauling its lounge network, including expanding lounge capacity at Incheon, and also renovating all facilities.
A great solo travel tip spotted this week on One Mile at a Time.
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