The Korean Air Lounge at Los Angeles International Airport, at least in its current form, is a distant fourth place behind the other three SkyTeam lounges at LAX.
KAL Korean Air Lounge LAX Review
At the outset, let me note that Korean Air just closed this lounge and will refurbish and upgrade the facilities in the months ahead. This is welcome news and long overdue. Consider this review a final look at the “before” lounge so that we can best compare it to the new lounge when it reopens in the months ahead. This review focuses on the business class side of the lounge.
In its current form, the lounge has a poor selection of food, gets very crowded, and is generally not a comfortable space to wait for your flight.
In that sense, nothing has changed since my 2017 review, which is under this one, other than that the lounge is no longer part of the Priority Pass network.
At 9:00 pm, the lounge was crowded ahead of the departure of KE12 to Seoul Incheon, with seating at a premium.
In fact, the lounge was so crowded that I did not take any more pictures of the seating area, which includes a “terrace” overlooking the Villaragosa Pavillon in the terminal.
Food and drinks are located in a small room in the center of the lounge.
The evening selection included:
- blueberry muffins
- corn soup
- instant noodles
- grilled potatoes
- penne pasta
- tuna sandwich
- egg sandwich
- sliced carrots and celery
- pasta salad
- cut fruit (grapes, cantaloupe, honeydew, pineapple)
The coffee machine was broken, but there were other self-serve drinks, including:
- beer
- wine (two types, a 2023 Chalk Hill Chardonnay that runs $15/bottle and a Giesen Sauvignon Blanc that runs $10/bottle)
- spirts
- soda
- water
- orange juice
The restroom was clean, though there was a permanent discoloration below each urinal for men with pelvic floor issues…
I hope this lounge surprises us in a very good way when it reopens, but for now the Delta SkyClub, Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse, and Air France Lounge are all better choices.
My original Korean Air Lounge LAX review from August 2, 2017 is below. Not much has changed!
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.
“In fact, the lounge was so crowded that I did not take any more pictures of the seating area, which includes”
You forgot to add what was included…
Hoowfully theyl food options will be upgraded along with the decor.
Did to TBIT/T3 lounge hopping on an international itinerary earlier this year in the morning hours. First went to the Centurion Lounge and it was a packed uncomfortable hive. Then I went here even though I knew it was so-so from pervious experience. There was hardly anyone there and it was very relaxing. I actually ending hanging around for an hour.
the one time I visited this lounge is was completely packed. Priority Pass I imagine. A zoo. I exited pretty quick. This was pre-COVID.
Never again.
Not sure if on this same trip I had access to the One World Lounge or Star Alliance lounge, but I’ve been to those numerous times.
Don’t think I’ve ever flown Skyteam / Delta out of LAX.
Been to this lounge plenty of times flying CI to TPE. The one time I really needed a shower they were out of towels…Made for an uncomfortable 14 hour flight. Switched to flying BR and on the last trip this year got to experience the *A lounge which is much better, loved the outdoor space with the fire pits and heat lamps. Too bad the view was meh. But shower was operation!
Decent self-serve booze selection… what more could you want?! LOL