- Introduction: Getting What I Paid For On Sichuan Airlines
- Review: The Private Suite LAX
- Review: Asiana Business Class A380 Los Angeles To Seoul
- Review: Asiana Business Class A321 Seoul To Chengdu
- Review: Grand Hyatt Chengdu
- Review: Sichuan Airlines Lounge Chengdu Airport
- Review: Sichuan Airlines Business Class A330 Chengdu To Jinan
- Review: Jinan Airport Lounge
- Review: Sichuan Airlines Business Class A330 Jinan To Los Angeles
While I’ve flown Asiana’s first class on this route, this was my first time flying their longhaul business class. I was curious to see how the product stacked up, both compared to Asiana’s first class, and also compared to Korean Air’s business class, which I reviewed on a transpacific flight earlier this year.
Asiana 201
Los Angeles (LAX) – Seoul Incheon (ICN)
Wednesday, October 25
Depart: 12:10PM
Arrive: 5:35PM (+1 day)
Duration: 13hr25min
Aircraft: Airbus A380
Seat: 20A (Business Class)
I boarded through the forward door on the upper deck, where the exceptionally polite flight attendants pointed me in the direction of my seat. Asiana’s A380 has a total of 66 business class seats, located entirely on the upper deck. Asiana puts first class on the lower deck of the A380, meaning that business class takes up about two thirds of the upper deck. Behind it are roughly 100 economy seats.
Asiana A380 business class cabin
Asiana A380 business class cabin
Asiana chose a staggered business class configuration for their A380s. It’s a solid hard product, though not amazing — personally I prefer reverse herringbone seats and Apex Suites. The good news is that these are some of the most spacious staggered seats out there. One thing I can’t get over, however, is how horrifyingly bland their cabin finishes are.
Since this is a staggered configuration, the location of seats alternates in each row. For those in the center section, you can select either the “honeymoon seats,” where you’re really close together, or you can select the seats where you’re further apart. Even when I’m traveling with Ford I’m not a fan of the honeymoon seat concept. While it’s nice to sit close to your companion, they’re just too close to one another, in my opinion.
Asiana A380 business class seats
Asiana A380 business class seats
Asiana A380 business class seats
The same is true of the individual seats closer to the windows. Every other row has the console closer to the aisle, with the seat closer to the window. These are the ideal seats in this configuration, since they have the most privacy.
Asiana business class seat A380
However, apparently I’m a total idiot. I was nearly sure that I had assigned myself a “true” window seat, though upon boarding I discovered that I had actually assigned myself one of the seats closer to the aisle. I’m not a fan of these seats at all, since they feel really exposed, and you’re quite a distance from the window.
Asiana business class seat A380
With this staggered configuration, the tray table is attached to the seat in front of you, and can be removed and folded over to be placed in front of you. On top of that, there’s a personal television and then a footrest next to the seat in front of you. That’s why the whole cabin is staggered, and why airlines save so much space by configuring seats in this way.
Asiana business class seat A380
Asiana business class tray table
I found the footwell to be quite tight, though I guess the benefit when you’re closer to the aisle is that you can still easily bend your knees while sleeping.
Asiana business class seat legroom
Immediately to the left of my seat were the easy to use seat controls, as well as the entertainment controls. I found the location of these to be poorly thought out, since both controls are right where you’d rest your elbow, so several times throughout the flight I accidentally adjusted the seat or entertainment settings.
Asiana business class seat & entertainment controls
Immediately underneath those controls was a small storage compartment that was big enough to hold a phone or a pair of glasses.
Asiana business class seat storage
Underneath that was the 110v power outlet.
Asiana business class seat power outlet
Then on the console to the side of the seat were the reading light, headphone jacks, USB outlet, as well as a cupholder, a literature pocket, and another small storage compartment.
Asiana business class seat side-table
In these compartments were headphones, which were above average quality.
Asiana business class headphones
There was also a pair of (flimsy) slippers.
Asiana business class slippers
Also waiting at my seat were a pillow and blanket. The pillow was far too thin for my liking, and the blanket was light and not great. However, the cabin was kept really warm, so in many ways it was a blessing that the blanket was so light.
Asiana business class pillow & blanket
Next to that were the lockers. This is one thing I love about the A380 upper deck. It’s great to be able to have huge and easily accessible storage spaces you can use during the flight.
Asiana business class seat storage
The choice of pre-departure beverages was limited to water or orange juice. That’s cheap on Asiana’s part, since clearly they have this policy because they don’t want to pay the US taxes on alcohol served on the ground (meanwhile they do offer pre-departure champagne when departing Korea).
Asiana business class pre-departure drink
A few minutes later flight attendants passed through the cabin with L’Occitane amenity kits, which include socks, eyeshades, earplugs, a comb, tissues, body lotion, and a toothbrush and toothpaste. It was an okay kit, though pretty basic — for example, it didn’t even have lip balm.
Asiana business class amenity kit
A few minutes later the crew passed through the cabin with landing cards for Korea. Since I was just in transit, I didn’t need one.
Then the purser came by each business class seat to greet everyone. She informed me that the flight time was 12hr55min, thanked me for flying Asiana, and asked if I wanted a newspaper. Across the board the crew was exceptionally kind, poised, and gentle.
While still on the ground I decided to check out the rest of business class, including the forward business class cabin, which has 20 seats.
Asiana A380 business class cabin
In the nose of the plane were two lavatories. One lavatory was quite spacious, while the other was a more standard size.
Asiana business class lavatory A380
Asiana business class lavatory A380
The bathroom had a good number of toiletries, including a toothbrush and toothpaste, a razor, etc.
Asiana business class lavatory amenities
In the very right front of the cabin was a small lounge with four seats, and a large monitor across from it near the cabin. The lounge seems like wasted space, as I never saw anyone sitting there.
Asiana business class lounge A380
Asiana A380 business class lounge TV
Asiana A380 staircase
At 12:10PM the cabin manager made her welcome aboard announcement, at which point the door closed. I’d say business class was about 80% full. The crew lined up throughout the cabin, and then did a synchronized bow. Once that was complete, they walked by each seat, stopped for a moment, said “hello,” and kept walking.
One thing I found annoying is that they provided all the codeshare flight numbers every time they referenced our flight number. So any announcement involving our flight was 30 seconds longer than it needed to be.
A couple of minutes later we pushed back, next to a Korean Air A380 also headed to Incheon.
Pushing back LAX
As usual, it took a while to pushback and start the engines, and we started our taxi by 12:20PM. The business class seat has a shoulder harness, so during our taxi out the crew came by each seat to make sure passengers had it on.
By 12:30PM we made it to runway 24L, where we were immediately cleared for takeoff. The A380 is such a gentle beast, you barely realize you’re taking off.
Taxiing LAX
Bye beautiful SoCal!
View after takeoff from LAX
As we climbed out I browsed the entertainment selection, which wasn’t great.
Asiana inflight entertainment selection
There were a total of about 20 Hollywood movies, and then some TV shows as well.
Asiana inflight entertainment selection
Asiana inflight entertainment selection
Usually I don’t use airline provided entertainment much, though I ended up binge watching Hawaii Five-O, as they had about a dozen episodes of it, all of which I hadn’t seen before. What a good show (though I have horrible taste in entertainment, so I’m not sure what that says about the show).
Asiana inflight entertainment selection
Asiana inflight entertainment selection
I also checked out the airshow. Personally I don’t love the version Asiana has, as it can’t be customized much in terms of getting an overview of the whole journey, etc.
Airshow enroute to Incheon
Airshow enroute to Incheon
The seatbelt sign was turned off about 10 minutes after takeoff. At that point I checked out the back of the cabin. In addition to the two lavatories at the very front of business class, there were another two lavatories right behind business class.
Asiana A380 business class cabin
Asiana business class lavatory
The lunch service began about 20 minutes after takeoff, starting with warm towels.
Asiana business class hot towel
Menus and wine lists were also distributed at that point.
Asiana business class menu & wine list
The menu lunch read as follows:
The drink list read as follows:
About 45 minutes after takeoff a cart was rolled down the aisle with drinks. I ordered a glass of champagne — Laurent Perrier was on offer. I was impressed by how it was served. The glass was placed on my tray, then I was poured a taste, then the bottle was held in front of me, and then the glass was filled up.
Asiana business class champagne — Laurent Perrier
I was also offered the canapé, which consisted of melon, parma ham, and mushroom.
Asiana business class lunch — canapé of melon, parma ham, and mushroom
About 20 minutes later the appetizer was served, which consisted of prosciutto, vegetables, and melon. I was a bit surprised that both the canapé and appetizer had prosciutto and melon.
Asiana business class lunch — appetizer of prosciutto, vegetables, and melon
Next up was a zucchini soup, which was good.
Asiana business class lunch — zucchini soup
For the main course I ordered the grilled salmon, which was served with pesto cream sauce, risotto, and vegetables. The sauce, vegetables, and especially risotto were good, though the salmon itself was dry and fishy-tasting.
Asiana business class lunch — grilled salmon main course
Next up a cart was rolled down the aisle with a cheese course. For business class I thought it was a pretty nice presentation.
Asiana business class lunch — cheese plate
Lastly the dessert trolley was rolled down the aisle, with the choice between fruit and mango cheesecake, along with coffee and tea. I chose the cheesecake, and also had a cup of coffee.
Asiana business class lunch — coffee and cheesecake
Once the meal was done there was another round of warm towels, and bottled water was also distributed.
Asiana business class lunch — water and warm towel
The meal service was slow, and was only completed about 2hr30min after takeoff. That’s not a huge issue given that it’s such a long flight and it left in the middle of the day. I thought the food was alright — the soup, cheese course, and dessert were great. I don’t really eat pork, so the canapé and appetizer didn’t have much appeal to me, while the salmon main course was dry, even though the accompaniments were good.
On Korean airlines I almost always select the Korean meal, though I find it’s almost always the same thing, which is why I went with the western option this time.
The highlight of the meal service was the friendliness of the crew, as I have nothing but great things to say about them. After the meal the cabin lights were dimmed and mood lighting was turned on, though the lights were never fully turned off.
Asiana business class mood lighting
I managed to nap for about three hours, which was more than I was expecting to be able to sleep on a flight leaving so early in the day. I was woken up partly because the cabin was so hot, and unfortunately there were no individual air vents. After waking up I worked for a bit, and the crew constantly came by to see if I wanted anything.
After a couple of hours I decided to order a snack from the refreshments menu, which read as follows:
There were three ramen options, and I chose the spiciest… and boy was it spicy.
Asiana business class ramen snack
I then watched some more Hawaii Five-O, and soon enough we were over Japan, just 2hr30min from arriving in Korea. At that point the pre-arrival meal service began.
Airshow enroute to Incheon
The menu read as follows:
Service began with the choice between orange juice, tomato juice, and water.
Asiana business class meal — orange juice
After that tablecloths were brought out, and a cart was rolled down the aisle with the appetizers.
The appetizer consisted of marinated shrimp, and was much more up my alley than the appetizer served with the previous meal. I was also offered a selection of bread.
Asiana business class meal — appetizer of marinated shrimp
While the appetizers were served from a cart, the main courses were brought out directly from the galley. None of the options sounded especially appealing to me, though I selected the potato crusted orange roughy. Meh.
Asiana business class meal — main course of potato crusted orange roughy
Lastly a dessert trolley was rolled down the aisle, off of which I selected a delicious fruit tart, and also ordered a coffee.
Asiana business class meal — fruit tart dessert
At around 4:50PM local time the captain announced that we were starting our descent and would be landing in 40 minutes. At this point the crew started to prepare the cabin for landing. During the descent they came by each seat to thank everyone for flying Asiana.
Airshow approaching Incheon
Airshow approaching Incheon
While the seatbelt sign was only turned on about 10 minutes before landing, the cabin already had to be prepared over 30 minutes out.
View approaching Incheon
View approaching Incheon
We had a smooth touchdown at Incheon Airport at 5:30PM, and from there a lengthy taxi to our arrival gate.
Touchdown Incheon
At 5:45PM we made it to our arrival gate, where we parked next to another Asiana A380.
Asiana A380 Incheon Airport
We had an awesome view of our chariot after deplaning — I love the A380 from this angle.
Our Asiana A380 upon arrival
Asiana A380 business class bottom line
Asiana has a solid, but not exceptional, business class product. The highlight of flying with Asiana is the excellent cabin crew, who are consistently friendly and professional.
The rest of the experience is pretty average. The seats are comfortable enough, though there are better seats out there, and I don’t care for the cabin finishes. The amenity kits and bedding are pretty basic. The entertainment is limited and there’s no Wi-Fi. And the food is good, though not amazing.
So while I’d like to say it’s an above average product, I’m not sure that’s true anymore, given how much other airlines have improved. For example, off the top of my head I’d say that ANA, Cathay Pacific, China Airlines, EVA Air, JAL, and Korean Air (at least on planes featuring Apex Suites), offer superior transpacific business class experiences.
If you’ve flown Asiana A380 business class, what was your experience like?
I'm can't wait to fly this business class once pandemic is over. I have miles saved up with Asiana to upgrade with. it will likely be on their new a350 since I prefer taking the night departure flight from lax.
Asiana business class has a better lay flat bed and privacy. Korean, if you have a window, you have to step over the next person. It’s 2/2/2 and Asiana is 1/2/1. Much better.
The kit on Korean didn’t have ear plugs or socks. Really?
Wow, I am a Northeastern Asian and can attest that what you guys find really hot is actually really cold for me (I usually bring fall/winter clothes on flights and ask for extra blankets). Same in dept stores, I always bring a cardigan in the summer. I always wondered why they keep the temp so low during the summer (and in planes) and this solves my mystery!
I flew the A380 Asiana business class from LAX to ICN. I think Asiana has the best service by far of the overseas business class travel I've done. Air China is the worst, American is good, but Asiana is fantastic. I'll find out about United and Swiss Air later this year. I almost felt uncomfortable with how nice the flight attendants were to me. Yes, the decor may be a little dated, but the seats...
I flew the A380 Asiana business class from LAX to ICN. I think Asiana has the best service by far of the overseas business class travel I've done. Air China is the worst, American is good, but Asiana is fantastic. I'll find out about United and Swiss Air later this year. I almost felt uncomfortable with how nice the flight attendants were to me. Yes, the decor may be a little dated, but the seats were comfortable both reclined and upright. The one thing I hated about the flight was the lack of wifi. I was hoping to get some work done, but could not. So, into my pajamas and off to bed!
Ben
any info on how to get the good window seat?
ill be flying from ICN to LAX and there is award availability for first and biz class on the a380. im all about having great flight experiences, but both products look unimpressive. do you guys think its worth springing for the first class or is business just fine for asiana? curious to your thoughts...
ill be flying from ICN to LAX and there is award availability for first and biz class on the a380. im all about having great flight experiences, but both products look unimpressive. do you guys think its worth springing for the first class or is business just fine for asiana?
Just flew LAX to ICN on the A380 (and returned on the same) and I agree with other comments. Service was attentive and friendly. Good food and wine choices; really enjoyed just about everything I ate in both directions.
Seat was mostly comfortable, although like others I found the foot cube to be a little tight (not as tight as UA's business class seat though). Not a big deal for me.
The heat...
Just flew LAX to ICN on the A380 (and returned on the same) and I agree with other comments. Service was attentive and friendly. Good food and wine choices; really enjoyed just about everything I ate in both directions.
Seat was mostly comfortable, although like others I found the foot cube to be a little tight (not as tight as UA's business class seat though). Not a big deal for me.
The heat was unbearable. It was weird, the flight actually started out at a comfortable temp, then right after we ate the main meal the temp gradually rose until I was in a full on sweat. I actually tend to run a little cold on flights, but this was very uncomfortably hot. I think the Korean clients prefer it this way (some of them were covered with blankets!). I've read articles on how they like to keep their homes very warm.
What's interesting is that I continued on with OZ to Hanoi on an older A330 and the temp was actually quite comfortable the whole trip (same on the return from SIN to ICN). Maybe just an issue on the A380?
Anyway, the service was great, food was good, seat was nice, but the climate was so uncomfortable I wouldn't book this flight again.
Strangely this airline rated 5 Star. Yes, the foot cubicle is quite tight, Lucky.
Good review
Nice report, I will be on the same flight next sept. and on to hkt from there
took the same route in Asiana 3 years back in first class. was very good.
cabin temp is ok, ( same on jal) I just open the over head vent a bit, makes it plesant.
My wife and I flew ICN-LAX on 11/23 and found business class pluses to be outweighed by the high cabin temp which made for a very uncomfortable 10+ hours. FA said temp could not be lowered. OMAAT should include cabin temps in reviews. Ariana doesn’t have air vents at each seat.
I flew this exact same route in 2014 when the A380 was new with OZ and it looks like the food has NOT CHANGED in 3 years. You could have easily grabbed the pictures from my album and just reused them LOL.
http://seat38a.com/asiana-airlines-oz-201-lax-to-icn-smartium-business-class/
Too many comments to make this very long...I flew ICN-LAX in the front cabin business just a few weeks before this...
PROs:
- Flight attendants very pleasant and professional; however, (maybe because my flight is technically overnight) the flight left in the early afternoon, there was no attentiveness during the non-meal service. Lucky reports they checked on him often, I was never checked on, and with my IFE controls not working, I had to...
Too many comments to make this very long...I flew ICN-LAX in the front cabin business just a few weeks before this...
PROs:
- Flight attendants very pleasant and professional; however, (maybe because my flight is technically overnight) the flight left in the early afternoon, there was no attentiveness during the non-meal service. Lucky reports they checked on him often, I was never checked on, and with my IFE controls not working, I had to actually get up to ask for a drink.
- Food; I'm pretty picky about food and I'm not fancy so business class food often doesn't appeal. I found the food to be very good. I had some kind of chicken that was quite good, the appetizer was a "salad" that consisted mostly of meat, kinda made me laugh. Then the breakfast options included an omelette but being as though I hadn't slept (more later) I opted for...Lasagna. For some reason they had meat lasagna on the breakfast menu, and maybe more surprisingly it was actually pretty good.
CONs
- IFE; the IFE was hot garbage. For a 10 hour flight they had what seemed like 15 "newish" movies (Lucky reported 20, I'd say it was around that I guess) ...that's it. I even explored the Korean/Japanese/Chinese options and they each only had 4-5. There was no giant section of classics or anything. The TV shows were random at best and didn't have many episodes of anything (5 of Hawaii 5-0 is probably the high watermark) so I was really disappointed there.
- Seats; the finishings were kinda lame, though I'm not a designer so it's not a big deal. My IFE controls didn't work at all, including the FA call button, so I couldn't use that remote control whatsoever. The seat itself physically is fine, I liked it in recline mode, sleep mode is fine I was comfortable but as Lucky said the pillow isn't great.
- Heat; I found it very hot the entire flight and with no control, there's really nothing you can do. I was wearing shorts, never touched the blanket other than to toss it in the overhead.
@worldtraveller73 agreed, my kids love the OZ A-380 but it doesn't work for me but that's the bottom line: it's all about showing them the world and creating genuine happy memories :) Here are more photos of this plane/airline: https://www.flickr.com/photos/kalboz/albums/72157687365263832
Lucky, just FYI -- Koreans rate Asiana's Korean food over Korean Air
I have 2 tickets for my honeymoon in Business class from NYC-ICN-Sydney (NYC-ICN on 777-200LR, ICN-Sydney on the A380). I booked using United miles. Is there a way to upgrade to first class (on one or either leg) and if yes is it worth it?
I live in Seoul (6 years and counting) and can confirm the standard setting is always 26C (78F) for summer time and public places like department stores and shops (with heavy government enforcement), so presumably this is what the airplane is set to.
And yes, I’m always hot here. Just how it is haha.
Ease up on the hyperbole. This cabin is far from "horrifyingly" anything.
When it comes to Asiana's long-haul business amenity kit, I have quite a bit to say. They used to have quite nice amenity kit, but that's been downgraded to what you got... It's mostly attributable to the fact that Asiana airlines' parent company, Kumho Asiana Group, is going through some tough financial difficulties as I speak. For a brief period of time, they didn't even give out amenity kits on inbound flights to Seoul (thus...
When it comes to Asiana's long-haul business amenity kit, I have quite a bit to say. They used to have quite nice amenity kit, but that's been downgraded to what you got... It's mostly attributable to the fact that Asiana airlines' parent company, Kumho Asiana Group, is going through some tough financial difficulties as I speak. For a brief period of time, they didn't even give out amenity kits on inbound flights to Seoul (thus only the passengers on outbound flight from Seoul got amenity kits).
Asiana's still got quite nice business class product. But their biggest issue is inconsistency with hard product. Some 777s still have mid 2000s style angled flat seats...
Those honeymoon seats are great for travelling 1 adult - 1 child.
I flew this route with my 11 year old. It's one of the few configurations that really works well with kids. Just a different perspective. . .
Thank You for the good photos, Asiana has a good presentation on their foods yet, thoe 'honeymoon' sets are just to close (as you have indicated); I love your reports; was the after take-off, nicely presented Laurent Perrie champage served chilled?
How do you find the cabin temperture on Asiana? Some airlines such as Singapore are too warm for me but, Thai usually maintains a nicely chilled cabin
Happy and safe travels
I love adjectives as much as the next guy; but, can something really be "horrifyingly" bland?
I'm surprised it's so long (13h25m) from the west coast to Seoul, when it's 14h25m from Washington, DC to Seoul or 13h45m from Toronto to Seoul. Just a bit more even though departure is from the east coast. I guess those flights take the polar route.
@Carlos If the seat faces straight forward, the shoulder belt is not required I believe. If it's at an angle, it might be (I've seen some airlines just use a lap belt with an airbag in it).
My partner and I flew Asiana 777 business class from SYD-ICN-HNL this month. The first leg the cabin temp was perfect, second leg it was so hot it made sleep difficult. Flight attendants were excellent, food was good, not great. I actually liked the Smartium business class seat better than Hawaiian's new business/first class seat. Port was excellent.
It's interesting that you had a beverage service with canapes before the meal.
In March I flew Asiana BKK-ICN-JFK-ICN-BKK in J and on *none* of the flights was there a pre-meal beverage. Shortly after take-off tablecloths were laid and we went directly into the meal starting with table set-up, appetizer and bread. I thought it was odd, especially on such a long-haul flights like ICN-JFK and JFK-ICN, to not have a separate beverage service. On...
It's interesting that you had a beverage service with canapes before the meal.
In March I flew Asiana BKK-ICN-JFK-ICN-BKK in J and on *none* of the flights was there a pre-meal beverage. Shortly after take-off tablecloths were laid and we went directly into the meal starting with table set-up, appetizer and bread. I thought it was odd, especially on such a long-haul flights like ICN-JFK and JFK-ICN, to not have a separate beverage service. On the midnight departure of a 5-hour BKK-ICN flight, yes, I can see speeding up things so one can sleep earlier, but not on a 14.5-hour flight with a mid-day departure. (I hate to sound like the macadamia nut wacko on KE but skipping a scheduled beverage service would be a pretty serious infraction, no?)
When taking my meal order they asked what I would like to drink, and at the time I thought that was for a pre-meal beverage service, but no, that drink was delivered shortly after table-setup, appetizer and bread.
Which is the norm for a long-haul OZ flight? A beverage/canape service before the meal or a "combined service?"
In the Good News category, as a solo traveler I quite enjoyed the A380 Business Class window seat with maximum privacy.
Asiana is one of the reasons I don't trust Skytrax ratings. Sure the airline is fine and they do have some excellent crew. But particularly given that they still have angled seats in J on many long-haul planes, I don't think anybody here would argue they are overall a superior airline to, say, JAL, which is rated lower (4 stars) by Skytrax.
same here for the reverse herringbone, not a fan.
"I don’t care for it at all. Why must I sit sideways so that some revenue manager can get his cabin density award bonus for the year?"
Legend,
It's more a matter of revenue for the airline, and the corresponding prices and schedule. You want space around you but that costs the airline money, which means higher fares. Price rarely comes into these reviews but, if it did, you'd often find that the "inferior" layout...
"I don’t care for it at all. Why must I sit sideways so that some revenue manager can get his cabin density award bonus for the year?"
Legend,
It's more a matter of revenue for the airline, and the corresponding prices and schedule. You want space around you but that costs the airline money, which means higher fares. Price rarely comes into these reviews but, if it did, you'd often find that the "inferior" layout has lower prices.
8-across for 2K or 4-across for 4K? Not many people would choose the latter but that is what it comes down to.
*insert Lucky's obligatory comment about Asiana's color scheme*
at least it wasn't vomit inducing this time!
I echo the various comments about the temperatures in the cabin. It is ungodly hot. This is not a problem until you try to sleep, and if you're used to a cooler environment, it becomes almost impossible. I've flown Asiana a number of long hauls in first, and it's just as bad in first. At my request, they did agree to lower the temperature, but I'm not sure if going from 79 degrees to 76...
I echo the various comments about the temperatures in the cabin. It is ungodly hot. This is not a problem until you try to sleep, and if you're used to a cooler environment, it becomes almost impossible. I've flown Asiana a number of long hauls in first, and it's just as bad in first. At my request, they did agree to lower the temperature, but I'm not sure if going from 79 degrees to 76 was much of a help, and I had my own thermometer so I knew the exact temperature!
The "Ssambap" meal is my favorite part of the flight, which they serve in both first and business, and I would recommend it to anyone.
Why some seats have just a waist seat belt and others also includes a shoulder harness? What is the rationale behind this?
I hate those seats.
Nice writeup. I flew the opposite routing (ICN-LAX) 11/6 and found it very warm un the cabin. I have to say the hard product was very hard indeed (pun intended). I wound up taking a couple extra blankets and pillows pillaged from empty biz seats to pad the bed. Got about 5hrs sleep in though which was nice.
Flown this at least 3 times as this is ubiquitous award on the UA search engine from LAX to SE Asia. For a man who's 6'2" and 240 lbs, I found the Asiana A-380 business-class seats to be cramped and too small for me. I much prefer JL's 787 business class seats. But it was either this or the 12 grueling hours layover at KIX. We are flying ICN-LAX in January on these seats and...
Flown this at least 3 times as this is ubiquitous award on the UA search engine from LAX to SE Asia. For a man who's 6'2" and 240 lbs, I found the Asiana A-380 business-class seats to be cramped and too small for me. I much prefer JL's 787 business class seats. But it was either this or the 12 grueling hours layover at KIX. We are flying ICN-LAX in January on these seats and I'm not looking forward to it. The wife and kids don't seem mind the seats ... but I will enjoy their 20 year old Tawny Port!
Thanks for the review! :)
@tom,
He shold just put it in flight details table instead of making us find it.
I don't read the review, just look at the pictures, read the smallish comments and leave. Who cares about the review. I am not going to choose this airline or not choose it based on the review. I will read the review after I book something to find out what I have gotten.
@Legend.
It's Lucky's review. The only way he can do it is by stating what he did and did not like. Given how detailed the reviews are, most readers would have ample information to decide whether that particular statement does or doesn't apply to them.
Personally, I kinda like the emirates cabin with its blingy, tacky decor. Puts me in a good holiday mood as soon as i board.
@Ben, from the many Koreans I know, including my fiancée - yes, Koreans like warmer indoor locations. Think 23-24C [73-75F] even in winter and more during the summer. The last time I attended an conference at the Coex convention center, the convention center temperature was set around 25, whereas US convention centers always seem to be set at 18-20 (or less).
Just did the A380 Asiana Frankfurt to Seoul 7 hour layover then Seoul to Sydney. Great staff but the business layout is terrible. Very noisy. Even 5 rows from the galley the cleaning and stacking of glasses and crockery kept waking me up which they do in the aisle and not the galley proper. I use the 787 a lot and going back to the very dated A380 is telling: air is very dry, engines...
Just did the A380 Asiana Frankfurt to Seoul 7 hour layover then Seoul to Sydney. Great staff but the business layout is terrible. Very noisy. Even 5 rows from the galley the cleaning and stacking of glasses and crockery kept waking me up which they do in the aisle and not the galley proper. I use the 787 a lot and going back to the very dated A380 is telling: air is very dry, engines too noisy and dumb cabin lockers above are too low and intrude into the business aisle.
This reminds me of the Curb Your Enthusiasm skit where Leon explains the difference in sleeping temperatures between blacks and whites.
@debit, how long have you been reading this blog again (or are you a fake debit)?
Lucky always includes that info in the first post of the series. Let me help you:
Asiana had business class award availability for the date I wanted to travel, so I booked the following for 75,000 LifeMiles (which I purchased for 1.375 cents each):
10/25 OZ201 Los Angeles to Incheon departing 12:10PM arriving 5:35PM (+1 day)
10/26...
@debit, how long have you been reading this blog again (or are you a fake debit)?
Lucky always includes that info in the first post of the series. Let me help you:
Asiana had business class award availability for the date I wanted to travel, so I booked the following for 75,000 LifeMiles (which I purchased for 1.375 cents each):
10/25 OZ201 Los Angeles to Incheon departing 12:10PM arriving 5:35PM (+1 day)
10/26 OZ323 Incheon to Chengdu departing 8:00PM arriving 11:00PM
just flew JFK-ICN on A380 business class(using UA miles), echo the comments above, the cabin was way too hot, but found the same to be true on JAL return. Had a true window seat and found it comfortable, food and service was very good. Inflight entertainment was a bit lacking, haven't been on a flight that didn't have the Big Bang Theory in years.
Lucky, I've been reading your reviews for ages, and for the LIFE of me, I cannot understand your obsession with reverse herringbone.
I don't care for it at all. Why must I sit sideways so that some revenue manager can get his cabin density award bonus for the year?
I much prefer these staggered layouts.
But either way, it's a matter of preference, and I don't think you should penalize Asiana or...
Lucky, I've been reading your reviews for ages, and for the LIFE of me, I cannot understand your obsession with reverse herringbone.
I don't care for it at all. Why must I sit sideways so that some revenue manager can get his cabin density award bonus for the year?
I much prefer these staggered layouts.
But either way, it's a matter of preference, and I don't think you should penalize Asiana or other carriers for not offering YOUR (or my) preference in that regard.
Ditto the cabin finishes; while they're bland, they're also not gaudy and obnoxious (looking at you, Emirates).
That said, I had a similar experience on this route this spring. GREAT crew, decent but not fantastic food, and acceptable IFE. I was lucky, and had a cooler cabin, though! That seems to be a bit of a roulette wheel.
Why do north Asian airlines keep their cabins uncomfortably hot? Do Asians prefer it this way?
For each review you should stay including the # of miles or money you paid for the ticket. We see that you have left traveling in first as miles abs avaliable are harder to get in F.
Great, thorough review. Thanks!
Lucky, did you ask the crew to make the cabin cooler?
The ramyun picture is so gorgeous, it made me crave it again. Of course I ate Shin Ramyun past 5 days straight...
Not an impressive cabin. It reminds me of the beige PC cases from the 90s. Great review though, Lucky. I admire how thorough you are at including all the details of a fairly bland business class product.
We're taking that flight this Saturday - so great timing. From your review, I'd say KAL business is definitely more interesting, not least for the fun bar at the front of the upper deck.
I know that a lot of asian carriers tend to keep the cabin warm--have you ever asked them to cool it down a little? If so, what kind of response do you get?