Korean Air in 2025 will introduce premium-economy seating and upgrade multiple airport lounges, the carrier announced Monday.
The addition of premium-economy seating is in response to growing market demand, according to Korean Air, which is retrofitting 11 Boeing 777-300 ER aircraft by removing their first-class cabins to make way for the new premium-economy seating. The first retrofitted plane will enter service the second half of 2025 with three seating classes: Prestige (business class), premium economy and economy. The modifications will continue through 2026, according to the carrier.
Korean Air also said it would expand and renovate its existing lounges at Incheon International Airport Terminal 2. The carrier plans to add two "Prestige Class Garden" lounges in each of the east and west wings. "These enhancements will accommodate increased passenger traffic following the airport expansion and the relocation of Asiana Airlines into Terminal 2," according to Korean Air.
The carrier's existing Prestige Class lounge in the east wing will double in size, while the Miler Club lounge also will be expanded. The four lounges will open in phases beginning in August 2025.
In addition, Korean Air will renovate its First Class lounge and Prestige Class lounge in the west wing, with planned reopenings in April 2026. Once all upgrades are complete, the carrier will operate six lounges at Incheon, expanding the overall lounge space by 2.5 times its current size and doubling seating capacity.
Further, Korean Air also will redesign its lounges at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport and Los Angeles International Airport. The carrier did not provide a timeframe for those upgrades.
Korean Air plans to introduce a new feature in its mobile app, which will provide passengers with "real-time information on lounge location, amenities, reservations and crowd levers," according to the carrier.