In February I flew Korean Air A380 first class from Seoul Incheon to Los Angeles, and was blown away between the top notch food and service. This route is operated by a Boeing 777-300ER, featuring just eight first class seats in a 1-2-1 configuration. It’s actually almost exactly the same first class product available on…
Continue reading: Review: Korean Air First Class 777-300ER Los Angeles to Sao Paulo
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
"Maybe they were all connecting from Sao Paulo?" I thought you went to São Paulo...did you mean Incheon, which once in the passage you spelt "Incehon"?
Can you please do a comparison as you did with CX's 747 and 777 (service, lavs, etc.)?
As always, thank you for sharing the great review.
And, it's fun to read your obsession of Real Housewives 🙂
" (a friend mentioned after the fact that Korean Air actually has a pilot base in Sao Paulo that exclusively fly the route to Los Angeles)."
How does ALPA feel about this?
What is the difference between what Korean is doing here and what Norwegian is trying to do establishing their pilot bases in low cost countries?
Nice review Lucky!
Same wine list as your A380 flight. According to where they are "available" (per the menu), there was only a single red wine. I assume there was more than one red offered?
Can you compare the seat for sleeping purposes to CX or SQ F? Also for in flight entertainment selections?
@ hkairlinenews -- Whoops, thanks, fixed the typos. And thanks for the comparison post idea, I like it. Will plan that for this week.
@ beachfan -- Good question about sleeping. I still find Cathay's seat to probably be the best for sleeping, between the excellent bedding and very private yet not confined seat. I'd probably rank Korean second, and then Singapore last (I don't love their bedding).
I think more than one red was offering, though all my alcohol consumption involved bubbles, so I'm not positive.
I find it entertaining when the superlatives come out of your trip reports, some of them probably just for the heck of word count? 😉
Like "extremely empty" cabin, then immediately adding that there were actually people there, with pictures to prove it.
@ Danny -- Hah, fair enough. Though at over 3,000 words I don't think there was much need to boost the word count. 😉
"The way the flight attendant took the breakfast order must have been one of the most mind-numbingly complex questionings I’ve ever faced"
Lucky, break the thesaurus...it may have been mind-numbingly tedious, but complex? If that's complex, I wonder how you are able to plan these award ticket trips 😉
With regards to Singapore vs Cathay flight attendance style in first class...Singapore is better for daytime flights, Cathay for nighttime?
@ wwk5d -- You write a 3,000+ word trip report and I'm sure I'll find a phrase or two to nitpick as well. 😉
As far as daytime vs. nighttime, in general agree.
Sao Paulo GRU does get very busy with incoming flights in the mid-to-late morning, but it is still a bit embarassing in my opinion -- and poor logistics -- to have such a big international flight offload onto buses at a remote gate.
You should try and return to GRU again this year after June, when the brand new Terminal 3 should open there. It'll be a state-of-the-art terminal and will likely receive the large international planes that come and go.
LOL at the Addis Ababa comment as knowing you have 2 Ethopian flights coming up!
US CBP requires passengers disembark at LAX for NZ's AKL-LAX-LHR (and reverse flights), so I cannot imagine this is any different.
@ Lucky - Other than Ultimate Rewards, what would be the next best choice for redeeming Korean first? Any Skyteam with a good chart or some partner with reasonable price to buy points?
I flew Korean Air from LA to Bangkok coach a few years ago. Even in coach service was amazing. I would choose them again in a heartbeat.
@ Dave -- All depends on the circumstances. If they're well behaved I really don't care. If I ran an airline I'd probably generally not include unlimited first class travel for all employees as a perk, but under certain circumstances I'm not opposed to it.
Who were the passengers you recognized? Can't leave us hanging!
Also, I can't help to think about how bland that first class cabin looks...very sterile, almost like a doctors office.
As far as plane porn goes, LAX itself is pretty good in the afternoon. Landing just after 4 yesterday, I saw 2 Qantas A380s and a 747; BA, AF, EK, and KE A380s; LH 747; NZ and Transaero (?!?!) 777s; and an Aeroflot A330.
"I later figured out who 1K and 2K were, but it seems that the passenger in 1D and the couple in 2D & 2G were indeed connecting."
if 1K and 2K were the pilots, why didn't the others have to off-load for customs?
@ Abe -- No clue. Maybe they did and were just boarded before everyone else? Good question...
Thanks Ben, I was confused for a second! I can't believe all these people picking apart your report. I doubt they can speak two languages fluently like you can!
Looks very nice! I wonder if the crew read your Chinese Southern review and was keeping their eye on you 😉
P.S. Reading light placement makes no sense -- what they have in business class seems way better although business class itself seems kid of meh at 2-3-2 config.
@ Callie - Seriously? We're not being mean or anything, and just so you know I speak three languages fluently.
Just because we're making corrections doesn't mean we're being overly picky, just means we spotted a few mistakes (that everyone makes) and decided to change it to make it perfect. Though perfection can never be achieved, we must strive to get as close as possible, you see.
What an excellent trip report! Thank you so much, it is incredibly helpful as I am currently looking into options for Brazil-California. The choice between AA and KE seems obvious (I know neither, but AA doesn't look that great).
Being a foodie (and living in Paris) I find the menu somewhat disappointing in not giving choices for anything other than main course, and the desert is really frugal. The wines are actually rather mediocre (we buy stuff like that at the petrol station after hours when the real shops have closed), but the selection is wide.
Hilarious to see - again, from a French foodie perspective and without any judgement attached to it - how you (rightly!) make a negative comment about only Lipton tea available but then you order Diet Coke and Champagne at the same time! Over here you'd get shot for that 😉
But the world is a diverse place and I find it fascinating how different cultures relate differently to food. And, no, I am not one of those who think that my perspective on food is the only right one!
Again, thanks again for your TR, I'll surely read many more of the other ones you have done
Lucky, don't know if you noticed but I thought I'd let you know--it looks like Korean has further downgraded the aircraft on this flight. In looking at flights in July it appears they're operating an A330.
Ben,
My flight JFK-ICN (01/2016) has an equipment change from an Airbus 380 to a 777-300ER. Your photos of business class present a 2-3-2 arrangement which jives with their web page layout. But when I talk to KAL they insist the layout is 2-2-2 for this flight. Do you know if KAL has multiple versions of their 777-300ER ?
regards,
Paul.
Ben,
Will you be reviewing the new Korean air Kosmo Suites 2.0 and Business suites?