Review: ICN Cathay Pacific Lounge

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After a few days in Seoul, we were headed to Hong Kong flying Cathay Pacific in Business Class. Hong Kong was probably the city I was most excited to visit while Seoul was the city I found least interesting, so I was ready to get on this flight!

We left our hotel extremely early in the morning to catch the airport bus and experienced a lovely tour of Seoul while picking up the rest of the passengers at their hotels. Finally, we were on the road to Incheon. For those who don’t know, Incheon literally couldn’t be farther from Seoul if it tried - I couldn’t believe how far away it is for being Seoul’s most major airport. I think it took about an hour to get there once we made the last pick-ups in Seoul proper, maybe a little less, so I could be exaggerating a bit, but I really appreciate cities with airports actually in the city!

Anyways, we arrived at Incheon Airport and checked in fairly quickly, which was nice, but then we were met with one of the longest lines for immigration I have ever seen. Apparently the 2014 Asian games were going on, so there were a TON of people flying through Seoul. Luckily, we got to the airport plenty early, so once we finally made it through the line, we headed straight for the Cathay Pacific lounge. The lounge is located in Concourse A up an escalator from the departure floor on level 4 near gate 118. You'll even find a cardboard cutout of a Cathay flight attendant showing you where to go.

ICN Cathay Pacific Lounge Entrance

I honestly don’t know what I was expecting, but I guess I was expecting too much. The lounge is very small and really nothing special. That being said, it is quiet and there are free snacks/drinks, so might as well sit here rather than at the gate!

The lounge had 3 seating areas and a small area with snacks and drinks. Since it was early in the morning, there were breakfast dishes out. These included lots of breads, some cereal, probably some sort of congee or something (although I can’t remember), and hard boiled eggs. Then, there were also some salads and cup noodles and snack foods like nuts, pastries, pretzels, and… chips and salsa? I love chips and salsa, so even though it was 9AM and I was in South Korea, I was all over that. There was also a selection of juices, milk, soda, coffee, tea, liquor, and I think some beer in the refrigerators. 

ICN Cathay Pacific Lounge Seating

ICN Cathay Pacific Lounge Seating

ICN Cathay Pacific Lounge Food Selection

ICN Cathay Pacific Lounge Seating

ICN Cathay Pacific Lounge Food Selection

ICN Cathay Pacific Lounge Food Selection

ICN Cathay Pacific Lounge Food Selection

Overall, the lounge is underwhelming just because it’s small and doesn’t have much going on, but if you have access, it’s a good place to kill time before a flight. We were there before it got too busy, but it did start filling up, so keep in mind that it will likely be a bit busy if you visit anytime other than early morning or late evening. 

Happy Travels!