Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Yaya]

SEOUL, March 21 (Yonhap) -- A South Korean airport has soared as one of the world's main hubs, beating its rivals in Singapore and Hong Kong.

Incheon International Airport was named as the world's best airport for the sixth straight year, according to the latest survey by Airports Council International, a global airport consultation group.

The survey released last month placed Singapore Changi Airport in second place, followed by Hong Kong International Airport.

The achievement prompted China and other countries to seek South Korea's managerial know-how and high-tech aviation equipment in running their airports.

A steady rise in passengers and cargo has also made Incheon one of the busiest airports in the world, connecting 172 destinations worldwide.

More than 33.48 million people traveled through the country's main gateway last year, up from 14.5 million in 2001 when the airport opened in Incheon, a port city west of Seoul, according to the Incheon International Airport Corp.

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/national/2011/03/21/24/0302000000AEN20110321004800315F.HTML

[Zackback]

Yes it is very nice there. I enjoy sleeping there too.

I would love if they put in an Sbarros

http://www.google.co.kr/images?hl=ko&source=hp&q=sbarros&lr=&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&oi=image_result_group&sa=X

[Yaya]

I wish they would have the same choices many international airports have in restaurants and bars. I still prefer Hong Kong's Chek Lap Kok because of that.

[Zackback]

How did they get the number 1 ranking then?
I mean if it is a truly international airport then they ought to have these kinds of restaurants or others like them.

[schwa]

There was a Sbarros there for a while.

[young_clinton]

Incheon is really nice because of the scenic location and the building, but it is annoyingly devoid of the nice little restaurants that you get at the other airports. Seriously! Inside the main terminal it seems like a huge waste of empty space. Inside the international terminal is kind of that way too. I do remember however all the nice space and comfortable places for relaxing and all the nice TV's in the international terminal. Also the little Korean cuties working at all the places inside, they were very friendly too, very friendly.

I think Gimpo is a really nice airport personally. Why didn't they enlarge Gimpo?

The same goes for Suvarnabhumi airport. Don Muang was ugly on the outside, not too attractive in the inside. But it was a warm and welcoming airport and had lots of good stuff in it. The location was fantastic. I will really miss that airport. They should have just renovated it and enlarged its capacity.

Notice how Americans aren't the least bit interested in building say a new airport to replace LAX? I don't blame them, who wants to spend the money for that kind of crap?

If you want to know an airport to avoid if at all possible, Soekharno/Hatta airport is the one. Awful Dreadful and make sure you bring nice crisp 20 dollar bills when you arrive because they don't except american express or any other form of currency for the Visa. If you arrive without American Bills let the extortion begin!

[Drew345]

I wonder why the US carriers (Delta-Northwest, United) still connect at Narita for all their Asian connections. Incheon seems really underused as a major connecting hub.
To fly from USA to Bangkok or most any place in Asia, the connection is always in Narita. Even flying USA to Korea, unless it is a Korean airline, it is going to stop in Narita.
Same for the Asian carriers. Thai, Malaysia Air stop in Narita going to America. They come to Seoul, but only as a final stop.

[bucheon bum]

[bucheon bum]

That being said, I know Singapore Air flies through ICN about as much as it does through Tokyo on its transpacific flights. For instance, its SFO-SIN and Vancouver-SIN routes stop over in ICN while LAX-SIN stops in Narita I believe.

[Gamecock]

Gotta agree that the restaurant selection sucks for WORLD'S best airport. If you're a frequent traveler this means much more than high tech aviation equipment and the like.

Meh. Gives Koreans something to get excited about, though.

Got stuck in HK airport a couple years ago because of an offshore typhoon and sure was happy I wasn't in Incheon. Good food AND a movie theater in the HK airport!

[Yaya]

[Patong Dong]

Incheon is well run and a great airport, but as others have pointed out in terms of food it has a lot of room for improvement. When they did have Sbarro it was tucked away downstairs.

And I have never been in an airport that bests Changi for ammenities. A long layover there can be enjoyable. Free movies playing in a number of spots with incrediby comfy seating. Roof top bar. A rooftop pool you can pay to use. Excellent food selection. And so many free internet kiosks you can ignore the 15 minute time limits.

[gyopochris]

Well deserved.
I have been to over 10 countries in the past year and Incheon was definitely the best one. Hong Kong was pretty good too.

The worst: Jakarta

[Yaya]

[wishfullthinkng]

Skytrax, one of the highest regarded organizations in the airport industry gave their 2011 best airport award to HKG.

last year they gave it to Changi and the year before ICN got it.

i personally would easily put ICN over HKG. Hong Kong is simply not in the same caliber of airports as ICN is in my opinion. Yes it gets massive points for being incredibly easy to access, but that's because Hong Kong is tiny.

another big issue with these awards are that airports become wholly different animals once you get statuses for lounge usage and all the review sites have access to these lounges and take them into consideration when giving their awards. i can easily say that having lounge access at ICN as well as almost every other major airport in the world changes absolutely everything. getting unlimited and free booze, food, showers and comfortable seating (and sometimes beds) is something that you cannot put a price on if you're a frequent traveler. the problem though is that maybe 95% of the general flying population will never see the insides of these lounges so their view of a particular airport will be much different than that of the person reviewing it.


Edit: Skytrax link. http://www.worldairportawards.com/