Given that I’ve flown Korean Air’s first class so many times before on the 747-8, 777, and A380 (thanks to the great value of converting Ultimate Rewards points into Korean Air SkyPass miles), I was curious to see how their business class product stacked up.
Korean Air 24
San Francisco (SFO) – Seoul Incheon (ICN)
Sunday, March 5
Depart: 11:30AM
Arrive: 5:30PM (+1 day)
Duration: 12hr
Aircraft: Boeing 747-8
Seat: 20A (Business/Prestige Class)
We boarded through door L1, where we turned right into the lower deck business class cabin. Korean Air has 26 business class seats on the 747-8 lower deck, spread across five rows in a 2-2-2 configuration (the last row only has two seats in the center).
Korean Air 747-8 business class cabin — lower deck
This is an extremely spacious layout for the lower deck of the 747, and the aisles in this cabin must be among the widest in any business class cabin.
Korean Air 747-8 business class cabin — lower deck
Just past the business class cabin and by door L2 were the stairs to the upper deck. While the 747-8 staircase isn’t quite as “grand” as the staircase on the A380, it is more spacious than the 747-400 staircase.
Korean Air 747-8 upper deck staircase
I love the upper deck of the 747-8. While it’s not as spacious as the A380 upper deck, as an aviation geek it’s a beautiful place to be, given how iconic the 747 is. Korean Air has 22 business class seats on the upper deck, spread across six rows in a 2-2 configuration. The last row just has two seats on the right side.
Korean Air 747-8 business class cabin — upper deck
While I don’t love Korean Air’s greenish/turquoise cabin finishes, the cabin layout as such is stunning.
Korean Air 747-8 business class cabin — upper deck
Korean Air has Apex Suites in business class on the 747-8, which are the the same seats I’ve reviewed on Oman Air and Japan Airlines. The window seats in this configuration are probably my favorite business class seats out there.
Korean Air Apex Suites
Korean Air Apex Suites
I had assigned us seats 20A & 20B, which are the aisle and window seat in the last row of the upper deck on the left side.
Korean Air’s new business class seats
The aisle seats in this configuration are solid. While the seats aren’t that wide, they have a lot of privacy, which I appreciate. There’s a shield on the aisle-side for extra privacy, which you often don’t see.
Korean Air’s new business class aisle seat
There’s also plenty of legroom, and your feet won’t in any way feel constrained if you’re trying to sleep.
Korean Air’s new business class aisle seat
The window seats have direct aisle access as well. There’s a narrow opening through which you enter the seat area.
Korean Air’s new business class window seat
Korean Air’s new business class window seat
What makes this seat so great is that it’s incredibly private. After takeoff you can raise the partition between seats, so that you have a private cocoon.
Korean Air’s new business class window seat
There’s also so much personal space in these seats. There’s an ottoman big enough so you could store a full size carry-on underneath it, if you wanted to.
Korean Air’s new business class window seat
What makes this seat extra super duper special is that the 747-8 upper deck has storage lockers along the side of the fuselage, which give you even more personal space and privacy. One complaint about Apex Suites is the lack of storage space, which is solved with this configuration. The upper deck window seats on the Korean Air 747-8 are the best business class hard product in the world, in my opinion.
Korean Air business class seat storage
Korean Air business class seat storage bins
In terms of other seat features, the tray table could be extended from the center console, and couldn’t be folded over — it was a single tray.
Korean Air business class tray table
The power outlet was at the front right of the seat, so was conveniently placed whether you’re lounging or sleeping.
Korean Air business class power outlet
Then along the right side of the seat were the seat and entertainment controls, both of which were easy to use. You could also control the shield between the seats at the push of a button using those controls.
Korean Air business class entertainment & seat controls
Then behind that was a very small storage area, where I found a pair of slippers.
Korean Air business class seat storage
The slippers were rather flimsy, though did the trick.
Korean Air business class slippers
Also waiting at my seat on boarding was the menu for the flight.
Korean Air business class menu
There was also a pillow along with a blanket. The pillow was really small (it looks bigger in the picture than I remember it), and I thought the fleece blanket was pretty cheap for what’s supposed to be a good business class product. Lots of airlines have proper duvets in business class, so I’m not sure why Korean Air doesn’t.
Korean Air business class pillow & blanket
The crew was busy for about 10 minutes after we boarded, given the number of passengers who were boarding and needed help storing their things. The 747-8 upper deck has overhead bins, though they’re not huge, and can’t fit an expanded carry-on.
About 10 minutes after we boarded the crew distributed amenity kits. They were decent enough, with eyeshades, a comb, a shoehorn, a toothbrush and toothpaste, and some creams.
Korean Air business class amenity kit contents
The crew then distributed noise canceling headphones. They were better than what most airlines offer in business class, though not as good as Bose headphones.
Korean Air business class headphones
A few minutes later the crew came through the cabin with newspapers, which were displayed on a cart. That was followed by pre-departure beverages. The choice was between water, guava juice, and orange juice. I had the guava juice, which was served with honey roasted peanuts.
Korean Air business class pre-departure drink & honey roasted peanuts
At 11:35AM it was announced that there was a small delay due to passenger boarding. When you only schedule a 747 to board 20 minutes before departure, I can see how that could happen. 😉
Finally at 11:40AM the door closed (with every seat taken in business class), and five minutes later we began our pushback, at which point the lead flight attendant announced our flight time of 12hr9min. She also made a weird announcement saying that we had a China based cabin crew onboard today. I found that to be odd, because I’m 99% sure they were all Korean. Maybe I misunderstand her…?
View after pushback at SFO
As we taxied out to the runway, the cheesy safety video played. I think it’s time that Korean Air updates their safety video, because it’s way outdated.
We were departing from runway 28L, so we taxied past runway 1L and 1R, and then along the bay to the end of the runways.
Crossing runway 1R at SFO
At 12:10PM we were cleared for takeoff on runway 28L.
Taking off runway 28L at SFO
Our climb out was smooth, and I enjoyed the views after departure.
View after takeoff from SFO
View after takeoff from SFO
View after takeoff from SFO
As we continued our climb out I browsed the entertainment selection.
Korean Air entertainment system
Korean Air’s selection isn’t great. There are very few TV shows in the selection (in particular sitcoms).
Korean Air entertainment selection
The selection of movies was better, but still far from great. Korean Air doesn’t have Wi-Fi, so in general I’d recommend bringing your own entertainment if you’re picky.
Korean Air entertainment selection
Korean Air entertainment selection
Korean Air entertainment selection
Korean Air entertainment selection
For most of the flight I kept the airshow on. I don’t love Korean Air’s version of the airshow, since you can’t choose from which perspective you want to view the map, and I generally don’t like the maps where the plane is the same size as California. 😉
Korean Air airshow
Korean Air airshow
The seatbelt sign was turned off 15 minutes after takeoff.
Korean Air Prestige cabin after takeoff
I checked out the lavatories located at the front of the cabin. There were two of them, and they both featured the new Boeing design, though they were both really small. Do note that the toilet lid automatically closes when you hit the flush button.
Korean Air business class lavatory
There were some basic amenities in the lavatory, though not much.
Korean Air business class lavatory amenities
About 20 minutes after takeoff, the three excellent flight attendants came through the cabin to take meal orders. They took lunch and dinner orders immediately, and then collected menus. I always find that a bit annoying, since I tend to think part of the benefit of the menu is that you can remember what you’re eating, can look at the drink selection, etc. I also wish they’d take meal orders before each meal, rather than taking them at the beginning of the flight for both meals. Minor gripes, ultimately…
Shortly after taking orders they distributed warm towels.
Korean Air business class warm towel
The lunch menu read as follows:
The wine list read as follows:
After orders were taken it took a while for service to start. About an hour after takeoff drinks were served. I had ordered a glass of champagne, and I was impressed that they poured it at my seat. Korean Air serves Perrier-Jouet Grand Brut in business class, which is solid.
Korean Air business class champagne — Perrier-Jouet Grand Brut
I also ordered a glass of water, and was offered the amuse bouche, consisting of a roasted bell pepper roll with cream cheese.
Korean Air business class lunch — amuse bouche and drinks
From hereon out the service felt a bit like an assembly line. Don’t get me wrong, the crew was incredibly charming, but Korean Air has structured the service in such a way that it felt robotic. For example, rather than offering me a refill when I was done with my champagne, the crew took the glass, and then brought me a tray with the appetizer and an empty glass.
The appetizer consisted of a seared prawn and scallop salad with tomato celery salsa. I quite enjoyed it.
Korean Air business class lunch — appetizer and bread
Korean Air business class lunch — seared prawn and scallop salad with tomato celery salsa
I was also offered a selection of bread. While the garlic bread was hard, the sesame loaf was tasty.
Korean Air business class lunch — bread selection
Once all the appetizers were served, the crew brought around a carrier with four types of wine. I had a glass of the Kendall-Jackson sauvignon blanc.
Korean Air business class wine selection
Next I was offered the green asparagus soup, which was flavorful.
Korean Air business class lunch — green asparagus soup
For the main course I had the sautéed salmon with tomato sauce and vegetables. It wasn’t great — the fish was dry, and personally I can’t say I’m a big fan of salmon with spaghetti.
Korean Air business class lunch — sautéed salmon with tomato sauce and vegetables
Ford had the bibimbap, which I usually have, but I figured I’d try something else. Korean Air’s bibimbap seems to just about be the same in business and first class, and there’s not much variance.
Korean Air business class lunch — bibimbap
Korean Air business class lunch — bibimbap accompaniments
It even comes with handy instructions about how to eat it.
Korean Air business class lunch — bibimbap instructions
After the main courses were cleared, the crew came around with the dessert cart. Ford had Haagen-Dazs vanilla ice cream, while I had the white almond cake.
Korean Air business class lunch — Haagen-Dazs ice cream for dessert
The almond cake looked incredible, though ended up being pretty dry and tasteless.
Korean Air business class lunch — white almond cake
We also had a cheese plate to share, just for the photo op, of course. 😉
Korean Air business class lunch — cheese plate
The crew then came around with coffee, tea, bottled water, and landing cards for Korea.
Bottled water and landing cards for Korea
The entire meal service was done about 2hr20min after takeoff. The crew was kind, charming, and precise. They did a great job, though I think Korean Air’s service procedures could feel less robotic. Again, it’s not the crew’s fault, because they were being charming individually, but it’s clear they were just following the service standards set forth by the company.
I worked during most of lunch, and then watched La La Land, which I had heard so much about, but hadn’t yet seen. I don’t usually watch movies on planes, but when I’m not quite tired and when the selection is limited, I sometimes cave. La La Land was… overrated?
Korean Air entertainment selection
I worked for a couple more hours after the movie, and finally decided to rest about six hours before landing, thinking I’d get a solid four hours of rest before the pre-arrival meal. The window seat Apex Suite is such a lovely space to relax and rest.
Korean Air business class fully flat bed
Well, I was surprised to be awoken five hours before landing for the dinner service. What the heck?! On a 12 hour flight, shouldn’t you serve one meal after takeoff and one before landing, to maximize passengers’ ability to sleep? Most of the passengers seemed to be asleep when they turned up the cabin lights for the meal.
Service began with warm towels.
Korean Air business class service — hot towel
The crew then came through the cabin with cups of pineapple juice, orange juice, guava juice, and water.
Korean Air business class juice service
The dinner menu read as follows:
To start I was offered a salad, which was great. It was large and more interesting than the typical “seasonal salad” airlines serve.
Korean Air business class meal — garden salad with mozzarella and sundried tomatoes
Then for the main course I had a shrimp dumpling noodle soup, which was also excellent. It was much better than the salmon served with the first meal.
Korean Air business class meal — shrimp dumpling noodle soup
Lastly I was offered a fruit plate for dessert.
Korean Air business class meal — fresh fruit for dessert
I also had a cup of coffee, since I was awake at this point, and got back to work.
Korean Air business class meal — coffee to finish
I worked for the next few hours, and couldn’t help but notice the lack of snacks. Most airlines have packaged snacks in business class between meals, but Korean Air didn’t. The only thing they had were freshly baked cookies (which were delicious), though I’m not quite sure why they offered me savory breadsticks with them.
Korean Air business class snack — warm cookies
One other slight frustration I had was how tough it was to stay hydrated. They only had one bottle of water per person, and Korean Air’s glasses are tiny, so I felt like I was drinking water one shot at a time.
Before landing I decided to watch a “Brain Games” show.
Korean Air entertainment
About 30 minutes before landing the captain came on the PA to advise us that we would land at around 5:30PM local time. At this point Ford woke up (he slept almost the whole flight), and I was impressed that the crew proactively offered to serve him the meal then. They offered to serve the whole thing, but he said just the salad and fruit were fine.
Korean Air business class — meal shortly before landing
The flight was smooth, including during the descent.
View approaching Incheon
About 10 minutes before landing, all three flight attendants working the upper deck came around to each passenger to thank them for flying Korean Air, which was a very nice touch, I thought.
View approaching Incheon
We touched down at Incheon Airport on runway 33R at 5:25PM, and from there had a 20 minute taxi to our arrival gate.
Taxiing Incheon Airport
The taxi took forever, despite the fact that we were taxiing at a fairly high and consistent speed.
Taxiing Incheon Airport
We eventually pulled in next to a Korean Air 737 and A380.
Taxiing Incheon Airport
Immigration took a while, and within about 45 minutes we were on a shuttle to the Grand Hyatt Incheon, where we’d be spending the night.
Korean Air 747-8 business class bottom line
Korean Air offers a solid transpacific business class product, though with a bit of work, they could be one of the best. Their hard product is incredible, as the upper deck window seats in this configuration are the best business class seats out there, in my opinion. The flight attendants working our flight were also fantastic — they were friendly, professional, and charming.
However, some aspects of the soft product leave some room for improvement. Korean Air could improve their bedding, improve the food a bit, and not serve the pre-arrival meal five hours before landing, meaning that you can’t get more than four hours of interrupted rest on a transpacific flight.
Overall I’d highly recommend Korean Air business class, despite their (relatively minor) flaws.
Membership is free and takes no more information than commenting as a guest. Earn status points for good contributions, and see fewer ads as your status grows.