Prior to my China Eastern flight from Los Angeles to Shanghai we were invited to use the Korean Airlines KAL Business Lounge. In a nutshell: it’s better than nothing, but not worth your time.
This is a PriorityPass lounge, meaning if you are flying out of the Tom Bradley International Terminal and do not have access to other lounges, this still beats the gate area. But I find it to be a very disappointing lounge overall.
It’s spacious but lacks character. It feels more like a convention ballroom than a lounge and once the lounge starts to fill up, there is no privacy.
I give the lounge credit for sufficient power and USB outlets throughout the lounge, but a strike for not cleaning up–dishes, cups, and trash could be seen on tables all over the lounge.
Food selection is weak. Fresh fruit and raw vegetables, sandwiches, chips, boxed noodles, and muffins are enough for a decent snack, but unlike the oneworld and Star Alliance lounges nearby, full meals are not available. Note that I visited the business class side. The first class side does offer a couple hot dishes in the buffet.
A self-serve bar offers a limited amount of alcoholic beverages along with coffee and soft drinks.
A terrace overlooking the Villaraigosa Pavilion offers additional “outdoor” seating.
Shower stalls are available. Ask one of the ladies at the front desk for a key if you need a shower. They will hold your passport or boarding pass while you are in procession of it. The shower rooms are actually quite spacious, with plenty of room to open your bag and change. I stepped in only for the picture so cannot comment on water pressure. Restrooms are also available.
My biggest complaint: tepid internet speeds. The internet was so slow it was essentially non-functional and did not improve during my stay.
CONCLUSION
This is one of those lounges that is not horrible, just a lounge I would not arrive early for. Hours of operation are 9am to 1am, though PriorityPass members are only allowed access from 12pm to 8pm. Korean Air offers such a superior onboard product in first class: it continues to befuddle me why the airline chooses to invest so little in its lounge product.
While the beige pedestals do show outlets and USB ports, the majority don’t work as the plugs underneath are not plugged in due to being bent or broken. Nice attempt, but poor design execution as there is no room under the pedestal for the Plug.
Thanks for commenting. Good to know.
Nice review. The lounge is filthy compared to years ago. The drink selection is “meh” at best. The only reason to go to the lounge is to spend time on the balcony – that is an experience.
Agree that the lounge is “meh” at best. But the terrace seating over the pavilion is my favorite part of it. Just sitting back and watching the traffic and giant departures board is worth more than the cost of admission, zero.
Just out of curisoty…what about Korean’s on board product is superior? Maybe F? Certainly not business class with an economy sized pillow, tiny wine glasses and one bottle of water per person that is similar to the size of a thimble. I also found their lounge at ICN to be pretty lame.
Agree, was thinking only about F.
Their ICN lounges are also awful. Really mystifying why such an otherwise excellent airline fails so badly on lounges. Also disappointing that other ST carriers at LAX (particularly AF) put up with this.
Agree. Delta lounge is far superior at LAX.
Is there anything special about the F portion of the lounge besides a separate seating area and the hot items on the buffet? Curious what to expect for my AF F flight. From everything I’ve read, I should prepare to be disappointed on that front. (Stinks that DL moved, or the SkyClub probably would have been a far better option.)
No, not to my knowledge. Which must be disappointing for your upcoming AF F trip! 😉
SkyTeam lounges are generally so disappointing with Korean Air not keeping up with other Asian rivals. Makes me want to jump ship to another alliance.
Korean air lounge can’t be good. What can we expect from arrogant people?. just posting nice pictures and fake rivews about airlines and services. Incheon lounge food is junk. Never had a vegetarian food and claims world best airport . Always korean says KOREA IS THE BEST . I made a big mistake, that trusted korean air and got million miler status. Ridiculous food.prices are like loot.