Korean Air 604
Hong Kong (HKG) – Seoul Incheon (ICN)
Tuesday, July 3
Depart: 12:15PM
Arrive: 4:55PM
Duration: 3hr40min
Aircraft: Airbus A330-300
Seat: 1A (First Class)
In my experience Korean Air is one of the most consistent airlines when it comes to their onboard soft product, both in terms of service and food. However, the quality of their seats varies greatly.
At the forward door I was greeted by the cabin manager and one of the flight attendants, and escorted to my seat. Korean Air has just six first class seats on the A330, in a 2-2-2 configuration.
Korean Air A330 first class seats
It goes without saying that this is an underwhelming first class hard product. For the short flight to Incheon it was no big deal, but Korean Air does operate this plane on longhaul flights, and I’d be very unhappy to book a longhaul international first class seat and get this. This is a subpar business class product, and most definitely not an acceptable first class product.
Korean Air A330 first class cabin
What’s even more disappointing is that Korean Air has virtually the same seat in business class on this plane. Yes, the below picture is of their business class seats. They have 18 business class seats, spread across three rows in a 2-2-2 configuration.
Korean Air A330 business class cabin
Below are pictures of the first class seats once again. As you can see, the only difference is that first class seats have ottomans and a larger console with the personal television.
Korean Air A330 first class seats
The ottoman becomes part of the seat when you fully recline it. Then there’s a personal television on the bulkhead, as well as a shelf where you could place something during the flight, given that the seats otherwise lack storage.
Korean Air A330 first class seats
The simple seat controls are along the outer armrests.
Korean Air first class seat controls
Then underneath the center armrests are the entertainment controllers.
Korean Air first class entertainment controls
The tray table, which can be folded over in half, is also located in the center armrest.
Korean Air first class tray table
Also underneath the center armrest were two 110v outlets.
Korean Air first class power outlets
There’s a small privacy shield that can be extended between seats for more privacy, though it by no means gives you full privacy, though it’s better than nothing. There are also reading lights and USB outlets in this area.
Korean Air first class privacy partition
Note that Korean Air doesn’t have individual air nozzles on their A330s.
Already waiting at my seat on boarding were the menu and wine list for the flight.
Korean Air first class menu & wine list
Also in the literature pocket were a pair of slippers and a shoe bag.
Korean Air first class slippers
There was a plush pillow and a fleece blanket at my seat, which were fine for the short flight.
Korean Air first class pillow & blanket
As soon as I settled in, the flight attendant taking care of me introduced herself and familiarized me with the seat. She asked me what I’d like to drink, and I ordered a glass of champagne. I was also asked if I wanted some nuts.
A few minutes later I was brought a glass of rose champagne (Perrier-Jouet Blason Rose) and some macadamia nuts. It’s strange that the only champagne Korean Air serves on short-haul flights is rose.
Korean Air first class champagne & macadamia nuts
I was then also offered Bose headphones.
Korean Air first class Bose headphones
The boarding process was efficient, and was completed within 15 minutes. First class had just three of six seats occupied. I really don’t mind the 2-2-2 configuration if I have an empty seat next to me (as all three of us did on this flight), but I’d feel differently if I had a seatmate in international first class.
Around this time the cabin manager came around and welcomed aboard all three of us. A minute later her colleague came by to take my lunch order.
After that the safety video was screened, and then at 12:10PM we began our pushback, among a sea of Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon planes.
Cathay Pacific A330 Hong Kong Airport
Cathay Dragon A330 Hong Kong Airport
We taxied for about 10 minutes, and then just stood still. At 12:30PM the captain apologized for our delay due to congestion, and said that we were number five for takeoff, and should be departing in about 10 minutes. He also announced that the flight time should be 3hr15min.
United 777 Hong Kong Airport
At 12:40PM we were cleared for takeoff on runway 25L, right behind a United 777.
Taking off Hong Kong Airport
We had a quick takeoff roll, and hit a few bumps on the climb out. Within 10 minutes the seatbelt sign was turned off.
View after takeoff from Hong Kong
As we climbed out I took a look at the flight map for our journey.
Airshow enroute to Incheon
I also browsed the entertainment selection. Korean Air isn’t industry leading when it comes to entertainment — in this case there were a handful of TV shows and about 50 movies, which is alright, though not great.
Korean Air entertainment selection
Korean Air entertainment selection
Korean Air entertainment selection
The crew was very quick with getting started on the service, and the lunch service began just 15 minutes after takeoff.
The menu read as follows:
The drink list read as follows:
Service began with warm towels.
Korean Air first class warm towel
My table was then set, and I was brought another glass of champagne.
Korean Air first class Perrier-Jouet rose
Korean Air has some of the most elaborate meal services in first class of any airline out there. Perhaps most interesting is that they just assume you want their five plus course meal. I feel like on Etihad they look at you like you have two heads if you ask for more than a three course meal (maybe just because they know they’ll run out of food?), while on Korean Air they don’t even ask if you want everything, but rather just assume that you do.
To start I was served grilled beef and leek with Chinese XO sauce.
Korean Air first class lunch — amuse bouche
Next up was the appetizer, which consisted of marinated feta cheese covered with tomato jelly, crab meat stuffed tomato, and mango coulis.
Korean Air first class lunch — appetizer
Next up was a butternut cream soup.
Korean Air first class lunch — soup
Then I had a mixed green salad with tomato and mozzarella cheese with red wine shallot dressing.
Korean Air first class lunch — salad
For the main course I ordered the bibimbap. I realize you can only get so creative with bibimbap, though I do wish they’d mix it up a little bit sometimes.
Korean Air first class lunch — main course
This came with instructions, as usual.
Korean Air first class lunch — bibimbap instructions
Lastly there was dessert, which was served off a cart. I just wanted some fruit at that point, so had melon, kiwi, and pineapple.
Korean Air first class lunch — dessert
The meal was spectacular for a short flight, I thought. The food quality was great, and the service incredibly attentive. The other two passengers just slept the whole way, so I had two flight attendants taking care of just me.
I was hoping to get some sleep on this flight, so I was also grateful for the pace of the service. The entire meal service took only about an hour from start to finish, meaning I had over two hours left in the flight when the meal was done. At this point we were just passing Taipei.
Korean Air airshow
I was quite tired at this point given that I hadn’t slept much on my overnight Air Belgium flight, so I reclined my seat. I don’t think Korean Air’s A330 first class seats are quite flat, but rather there’s a slight angle. Even as someone who is generally sensitive to seat angles, I didn’t find this to be an issue at all, and was extremely comfortable.
Korean Air A330 first class bed
I woke up about 30 minutes before landing as we were starting our descent, and the captain provided updated arrival information. I quickly checked out the lavatory at the front of the cabin, which had a few amenities.
Korean Air first class lavatory A330
Korean Air first class lavatory amenities
The cabin was prepared for arrival about 20 minutes before landing, so I spent the rest of the flight looking out the window.
Airshow approaching Incheon
There was quite a bit of cloud coverage on approach, and I could tell the pilots were vectoring to avoid some of the weather.
Descending towards Incheon
Descending towards Incheon
Descending towards Incheon
We touched down at Incheon Airport at 4:50PM on runway 33R.
Final approach to Incheon
We had to taxi quite a distance to our arrival gate.
Taxiing Incheon Airport
Fortunately we were arriving at Terminal 2, which is Incheon’s newest terminal. I was quite excited about finally getting to see it.
Taxiing Incheon Airport
As we pulled into the gate there was a KLM 747 pushing back at the gate next to us, and we parked next to a Korean Air 777 in a special livery.
KLM 747 Incheon Airport
Korean Air 777 Incheon Airport
Korean Air A330 first class bottom line
Korean Air’s A330 first class hard product leaves a lot to be desired. While it was perfectly fine for a short flight with an empty seat next to me, I’d feel much different if traveling on a longhaul flight and I had a seatmate. It’s odd to me how they have the same seat in first and business class.
On the plus side, Korean Air really nails the soft product with excellent service and an elaborate meal. There’s so little variance in terms of the quality of Korean Air’s first class soft product, so I appreciate the consistency.
If you’ve flown Korean Air’s A330 first class, what was your experience like?
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