I have a confession to make -- assuming I'm traveling alone, I don't actually care whether my flights are amazing as could be or entertainingly horrible. While a good flight is nice to report on, as a blogger I'm kind of amused when I get to report on a subpar flight. That's why I didn't…
Continue reading: Korean Air A380 First Class Seoul Incheon to Los Angeles
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
Lucky, can you please remind us how to book KE using either Chase or DL points? Also how to check for availability? Are they a carrier that releases a lot of last minute premium class space?
I can't believe with all the bling for the lounge, they couldn't have added a sliding door to the suite.
@lucky - I recently flew the KE A380 ICN-ATL and our flight was actually surprising light in terms of passengers too and I was in economy. It was only about 70% full which seems rare now adays. Was the cabin hot? It was really noticeable on our flight and with no personal air vents, made it slightly uncomfortable...
Interesting. Most of the TRs I've read about this airline have pretty much averaged to "good but not great". Either you were...lucky (no pun intended), or they've improved quite a bit.
Did the reading lamp on the side not bother you? It usually tend to piss off quite a few people in their own TRs lol
You didn't get lucky with great crews. Korean Air always got fantastic young attendants. Especially for business and first class, service is just always superb.
This is pretty aligned with NYBanker's trip report from late 2012: http://upgrd.com/sitinfirst/korean-air-a380-first-class-new-york-to-seoul.html
I, too, have always heard that KE keeps the cabin at a stiflingly hot temperature, and I would never be able to deal with that for 10++ hours.
Look forward to the full trip-report!
And yes, being served yogurt and ice cream in containers is a bit strange.
That's champagne! No asswiper though 🙁
Asiana announced they are planning to compete more aggressively in first and will be flying their first two A380s between ICN and LAX starting in July. I'd bet they will be suites.
I did the KE A380 from JFK to ICN last fall. I was in business, and it was full upstairs, but the service was flawless, as was the food, as you describe.
And no one used that lounge in the front at all, so it was nice place to sit and read for a bit to get out of the seat.
Have enjoyed Korean Air before, but have to try this.And I like the openness as opposed to suites.
My few flights with Korean have been flawless as well. Too bad Delta gutted the partnership MQM earning...
Flew ICN-LAX in F on the A380 as part of the RGN mistake fares last year. I had a similarly flawless experience. KE offers a top-notch product across the Pacific.
Looks like the JFK-ICN route F has better dining service. Full trip report here: http://www.tprochina.com/?p=60
@ Adam P -- I'll have a full explanation of Korean Air award bookings with the trip report, but basically they charge 80,000 miles one-way in first class between the US and Northeast Asia.
They release a TON of first class award space, both in advance and close to departure. It's not unusual to see 2-4 first class award seats per flight. So they're a readily available option.
@ David -- At the end of the day I've had some horrible airline meals that looked amazing, and some amazing airline meals that looked not-so-amazing. For the record I didn't post all the meal pictures, which I'm saving for the full report.
But I not only found the presentation to be gorgeous, but I thought the quality was even better.
@ Andy -- The cabin was hot after lunch, though cooled down a bit later, so it didn't really bother me too much.
@ wwk5d -- Hah, I have to save some content for the trip report. 😉
Did it bother me? No. Did I find it to be one of the most ridiculous features on an airplane EVER? Yes.
Hi Lucky, I think KE F is a great product for trans-Pacific flying...my question for you is when did they serve the second meal? In my experience they seem to serve the second meal early, maybe about 4 hours before landing. They are very polite and have no issue when I ask to wait another hour or 90 minutes.
On one flight I had a filling mid-flight snack (during the middle of the flight) and about an hour later they asked if I was ready for the second meal.
This seems like a far contrast from KE J. Flew the A380 in J LAX-ICN and the xxperience was just so-so. FA's were generally cold and never smiled. Hard product was ok but serving the pre-arrival meal 4 hrs prior (as Andy mentioned) was really weird.
The forward lounge, while neat in concept, wasn't all that practical I only used it to get water but they never refilled the bottle so it was empty most of the flight.
I flew Korean last September from NRT to HKG and I must say i had two of the best business class flights I have ever had. The service was excellent on both flights, the food was great (I now love bibimbap) and the hard product was very comfortable (a brand new 738 to ICN and a 77W to HKG).
The only issue was that the lounge was ridiculously busy in ICN. All in all I would fly them again in a heartbeat.
I have flown both, and they're both fine products.
However, I wouldn't go out of my way to fly in those planes on KE A380 or OZ suite F.
They're not that much better over the 777 or 747 on KE/OZ.
@TravelinWilly I've had hot cabin on some KE A380 HKG flights and cool cabin on other flights (eg ATL). Certainly not consistently hot (unlike say Lufthansa or British Airways).
@Lucky
my only KE F experience was as good as yours!... some may say it wasnt that good but base of many comments here, seems like it generally has good service in F. I am looking forward to fly KE F again in April. Need more data points from KE.
My KE F salad was also the best salad I even had, so fresh, I asked for double salad I remembered.
Yogurt in the bowl was done on my SQ Suite and F most of the flights I had with them, as I remember.
I actually feel indifferent about either enclosed-suite or openness version of the F seat, as long as it is big, comfortable, and looks good with comfortable/stylish color tone. For A380 F I think CZ anx MH seat don't look as classy, EK blingy as we know but is ok overall. Others are all good to me.
I care about soft product more cuz I am raised from the culture that have more human interaction vs wanna be left alone and do things on my own. Some who say the service level on Asian carriers are too much and they prefer to be left alone, that's fine but Asian services are built from Asian cultures that most Asian don't like to be left alone. Giving suggestions/opinions for choosing entree/wine/desserts, attentiveness, do it with smiles, follow through asking how I like it, and engage in small talks, are part of making the service great either on the planes, nice hotels, or restaurants.
@ hkairlinenews -- Yes, but might as well by dry at that point. Not going to drink sparkling wine that's less than $5 per bottle.
Just flew business on 380 KAL, and it felt like a bus. Hated the lack of intimacy and privacy. They need better design for the architecture of the seat layout and stacking. Bad lighting too. No temp. Control.