Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Aquaricorndos]

Got a question for anyone who has flown out of Korea, to the US if it matters. I've got to pick a flight to leave either Friday night or Saturday morning, and it'd be nicer to go out Friday but the soonest I think I could arrive at the airport is 2 hours before the flight take-off. Not early enough or just right? Thanks~

[schwa]

Two hours is sufficient. Anything less could get dicey.

[wishfullthinkng]

honestly depends on how familiar you are with the airport. i tend to get there about an hour before my flight and whisk right through using all the tricks at my disposal if it's an crazy early flight or if it's a nite flight i'll get there two hours in advance and booze and buffet it up a bit in the lounges before i take off.

for someone not familiar with icn i'd say 2 hours is perfect.

[Sticks]

2 hours is fine, if you're predicting a crowded flight you may want to check in or reserve seats online if you're able to. I forgot to do that and got crammed in next to the window for 11 hours since it was the only available seat, never again.

[vivid]

They generally say three hours for an international flight, but two should be fine. Just make sure you're not stuck behind a big tour group leaving on the weekend - they always slow things down!

[camaroclow]

I have a flight to Manilla leaving at 0730. Is the only feasible way to get to the airport between 0530 - 0600 to take a taxi? I know the airport limo leaves from Seoul station at 0520 and the airport railway starts at 0520. If its my only option, Id rather just pay the taxi then pay for a hotel or the jimjibang since there is two of us. Thx!

[wishfullthinkng]

where in seoul are you? going to seoul station to get a subway bus will only waste a lot of time unless you live literally right next to it. no matter where you are in seoul there should be an airport bus stop somewhere near you right on the road. depending on where you are it shouldn't take too long to get to the airport. for me it takes anywhere from 35 minutes with little traffic to an hour with heavy traffic to get to icn and i live all the way over near gangnam station. if i were in your situation i'd grab the first airport bus next to my apartment in the morning and bust my tail once i got there.

if you're unfamiliar with the airport though and want to be safe a taxi is a good bet, but taking one there and paying for a hotel or jimjibang is kind of silly. just split the taxi in the morning with your friend and no matter where in seoul you are it shouldn't cost you both more than maybe 25-30k (most airport limousines cost 15k).

[camaroclow]

I live in HBC. There is a big difference between the bus from Seoul station to the bus that leaves Itaewon. The Itaewon bus does the milk run and makes many stops where the bus from Seoul station leaves and makes a stop at Yongsan then to the airport direct. Im thinking it could be done with low traffic but is it really worth saving 30 bucks to risk the chance of missing the flight. Maybe there is a station on the west side of the city that does a direct route around that time...

[wishfullthinkng]

i find that surprising. there should be a direct airport bus near you somewhere. the one that is doing multiple stops is not the one you want. i avoid that area so i can't really help you too much.

[ttompatz]

http://www.airport.kr/airport/traffic/bus/busList.iia?flag=E

A lot of the buses have overnight service or start early (04:40ish) going to the airport.

Pick one that is convenient for you.

.

[ThingsComeAround]

If you absolutely must do the morning of... take the rail.

Pay the little extra for the express train if you can

[Lazio]

[wishfullthinkng]

if you do anything besides taking the direct airport bus at 4:40 or splitting a taxi with a friend you are making your life way more complicated than it needs to be. forget about trains, don't even consider it.

[nathanrutledge]

I'd say 2 hours is a bit short. Just last week, I was there about 1:50 minutes before my flight to Tokyo. No bags to check, only me, and the security and immigration area was PACKED. Plus, I was flying out of the far terminal and had to take the train to get there. Lots of little things added up so that I made it onto the plane just in time. It was a little close for comfort, and if I missed a flight to the US, that would be even worse.

Earlier the better.

[mikesaidyes]

Don't do anything under two hours. If you're flying, say, Korean Air, they don't allow online check in (unless you're a Sky Pass Member, but you still have to go to a special counter to print something).

So, if your flight is full, they start bumping and shifting based on your check in time. Also, if you're under their published guidlines (usually two hours for all airlines international), they'll just start saying "well you weren't here two hours before" if things get really dicey.

And I've seen the airport bus to itaewon, it makes about four stops before the airport. I was kind of surprised there were so many stops.

And yes, the person who said take the commuter train to the airport is correct. WAY cheaper. 53 minutes for that, versus 43. The airport bus is about the same. Airport bus is 15,000 "slow" train is like 4,000.