Review: Korean Air Business Class Airbus A321neo (ICN-CTS)

For the next segment of my quick trip to Japan & Korea, I flew Korean Air’s Airbus A321neo business class on the 2hr10min flight from Seoul Incheon (ICN) to Sapporo (CTS). I was looking forward to this segment, as Korean Air is doing quite a bit to refresh its narrow body fleet, and the A321neo is one of the carrier’s newest aircraft.

How was my flight? Well, it kind of reinforced the impression I had from my transpacific flight, which is that Korean Air isn’t quite in the “big leagues” among Asian carriers when it comes to the business class experience. The flight was ultimately nice for a short haul flight, and of course way better than what you’d get in the United States. However, the soft product wasn’t as good as you’ll find on top airlines in the region.

How I booked my Korean Air business class ticket

I booked my Korean Air business class ticket using Korean Air SkyPass miles. Korean Air SkyPass used to be a Chase Ultimate Rewards transfer partner back in the day, so at the time, I transfered quite a few miles. However, they’ve become so much less valuable over time, given that Korean Air no longer makes first class award seats available.

However, I figured this trip was a good opportunity to redeem some of these miles, especially given that SkyPass has access to more Korean Air business class award seats than partner programs.

I booked the following in business class for 62,500 Korean Air SkyPass miles plus $308.10 in taxes & fees:

10/06 KE72 Vancouver to Seoul Incheon departing 2:30PM arriving 5:50PM (+1 day)
10/08 KE769 Seoul Incheon to Sapporo departing 12:35PM arriving 3:20PM

In the previous installment, I reviewed Korean Air’s Boeing 787-10 business class, which was the primary segment of this itinerary.

Korean Air business class lounge & boarding

I’ve already reviewed the Korean Air Prestige Business Lounge Incheon, which is quite underwhelming as far as business class lounges in Asia go. I was happy to spend some time roaming around Incheon Terminal 2, even if I don’t love the airport as much as some other people do.

My flight was departing from gate 234, with boarding scheduled for 12:05PM, 30 minutes before departure. Sure enough, that’s exactly when boarding started, with business class passengers being invited to board first. You’ve gotta love how civilized aircraft boarding is in much of Asia.

Korean Air A321neo business class cabin & seats

At the forward door I was greeted by the friendly crew, and pointed right into business class. Korean Air’s Airbus A321neo business class cabin consists of a total of eight seats, spread across two rows, in a 2-2 configuration. I’m a fan of Korean Air’s more neutral branding, compared to the in-your-face blue color that the airline has historically used.

These seats should look familiar — Korean Air has Collins Aerospace Diamond seats in its A321neo business class. This is one of the most efficient fully flat bed business class products out there, as the footwell for each seat is located to the side of the seats in front, limiting the amount of pitch each seat requires.

Korean Air uses unusual seat numbering, as the two rows of business class are rows seven and eight. I had initially assigned myself seat 8E (the window seat on the right side in the second row) but I ended up moving to 8A (the opposite window seat), so that a couple could sit together.

There’s ultimately not that much variance between these kinds of seats on different airlines, though I’d say this product has all the “bells and whistles” when it comes to tech.

The center console has wireless charging, plus this is also where the seat control panels are located.

The tray table folds out from the center console. When you first extend it, only half of it is visible, and that way it can also be used as a personal device holder.

Then when you flip it over again, it reveals the full sized tray table.

There’s also an entertainment controller stored in the center section, though I find this to be kind of unnecessary, given that the entertainment monitor is also touchscreen.

I appreciate how Korean Air has a sizable partition between the pairs of seats. At least that’s nice as a solo traveler, though perhaps it’s less ideal if you’re traveling with someone, especially if one person is on the shorter side.

Underneath the center console are AC and USB-C outlets, for easy charging access.

The main storage option is at the back corner of the seat, where there’s an exposed space. This is also where you’ll find another USB-C plug, plus the headphone jacks.

When you recline the seat, it can turn into a 78″ flat bed. However, note that the footwell in these seats is definitely on the tight side.

Since this was a brand new A321neo, it had Airbus’ updated Airspace cabins, with huge overhead bins. The overhead consoles were also modern, though annoyingly didn’t have any individual air nozzles.

All-in-all, I was pleased with the hard product on this flight. Of course I basically knew exactly what to expect, since the only variance between these Collins Aerospace Diamond seats is how good the tech is, and what the privacy shield between seats is like.

Korean Air business class amenities

For a short flight, the amenities in Korean Air business class were quite nice. Waiting at each seat was a pillow and blanket, quite similar to what I was offered on the long haul flight. While I don’t love this kind of bedding for a long haul flight, it was more than sufficient for a flight of this length.

There were also a pair of flimsy slippers waiting at each seat.

Decent quality noise canceling headphones were also available, though given that bluetooth audio is offered, that’s not something I care all that much about.

Also waiting at each seat upon boarding was the menu and drink list for the flight.

Toward the end of the boarding process, I was offered the choice of water or juice, and I selected the former. It was served in proper glassware, with packaged snack mix.

Immigration and customs forms for Japan were also passed out, along with pens (which I always appreciate, since somehow I always manage to lose the ones that I bring).

Korean Air A321neo business class entertainment & Wi-Fi

Korean Air’s Airbus A321neo business class entertainment system represents a massive upgrade over what you’ll find on most other Korean Air aircraft, both in terms of the quality of the screen, plus the variety of entertainment.

Each seat has a 17″ high definition touchscreen display, which is very high quality, though does have quite a bit of glare as well.

There were a wide variety of movies, TV shows, and music. While I wouldn’t call the selection huge, it was much improved compared to Korean Air’s previous generation inflight entertainment system.

As always, my favorite entertainment is the map feature, which I had on for most of the flight.

I also love how Korean Air’s A321neos offer bluetooth audio, so that you can use your own headphones to enjoy the entertainment.

Korean Air offers Viasat Wi-Fi on its Airbus A321neos. There were two plans — a $4.95 messaging pass, or an $11.95 full flight internet pass. While I had issues with the speeds of Viasat Wi-Fi on the transpacific flight, I found them to be much better on this flight.

Given that Korean Air has historically had terribly outdated entertainment and no Wi-Fi, this is an area where the airline has improved massively.

Korean Air A321neo departure from Seoul Incheon

The boarding process was super efficient, and was wrapped up within about 15 minutes. Seven of the eight business class seats were taken, while economy was nearly full. At 12:20PM the captain made his welcome aboard announcement, informing us of our flight time of 2hr10min.

Around the same time, the main cabin door closed, and the safety video was screened. We started our pushback at 12:25PM — hello, Korean Air A380!

Then at 12:35PM we started our taxi out to runway 33L.

There we just had to wait a few minutes, and were cleared for takeoff behind an Air India Boeing 787 (in a special livery).

I enjoyed the views on the climb out, and the seatbelt sign was turned off around five minutes after takeoff.

Once the seatbelt sign was turned off, the crew sprung into action, starting with closing the curtains between cabins and galleys.

Korean Air business class meal service

Lunch was being served in business class on this Korean Air flight, and service was quick to get started after takeoff. You can find the lunch menu and drink list below.

Service began with drinks — Korean Air’s short haul business class alcohol selection sucks, frankly. There was no champagne on the menu, and there was a single red and a single white, both of which are cheap at retail, and served in mini-screw top bottles, like you’d expect in economy.

This is such a massive contrast to so many other airlines in the region. As one example, just compare this to what Starlux offers in business class on a flight of a comparable length.

Of the two meal options, I ordered the Korean style beef bulgogi with mushrooms served with steamed rice and vegetables. It was tasty enough, but I’m not sure the quality was considerably better than what you might expect in economy (presentation aside).

The only dessert option was some fresh fruit, with grapes and melon.

At the conclusion of the meal I had a cup of coffee.

The meal was fine and totally acceptable for a flight of this length, but not nearly as good as what you’ll find on many other airlines in Asia.

Korean Air A321neo business class lavatory

After the meal I checked out the lavatory at the front of the cabin, reserved for business class passengers. The lavatory was basic but modern — I at least appreciate that the A321neo doesn’t generally have a forward lavatory that’s as small as you’ll find on many 737 MAXs.

The lavatory was spotlessly clean, and there were several amenities in there, including shaving kits, dental kits, mouthwash, and body lotion.

Korean Air business class service

There was one flight attendant working business class on this flight, and she was friendly and personable. That being said, like on the long haul flight, I wasn’t a fan of the carrier’s assembly line-esque service. There’s just such little customization with the service.

For example, the flight attendant only had eight people to take care of, yet she came around to ask if I wanted coffee halfway through my meal, while I still had a full glass of wine. Logically you’d just think that you’d wait until a passenger finishes their meal before asking that, especially since there weren’t that many passengers.

It’s not a huge deal, but it just sums up how Korean Air’s premium cabin service just isn’t to the level of what you’ll find at many other carriers in Asia. Service isn’t about trying to anticipate what a passenger may need at a particular time, but rather it’s about going through the motions of the service flow.

Korean Air A321neo arrival in Sapporo

At 2:30PM, around 1hr40min after takeoff, we started our descent. As you can see, the route for this flight wasn’t terribly direct, as we flew along the coast of Japan for much of the flight, rather than straight over the East Sea.

The seatbelt sign was turned on around halfway into our descent, at which point the crew finalized landing preparations. I enjoyed the views on the descent, initially over the Pacific, and then over Tomakomai. While I wouldn’t have the chance to visit the area during this trip, I’m heading to Niseko in a few months, so look forward to checking it out.

We touched down in Sapporo on runway 1R at 3PM.

From there we had a super long 15-minute taxi to our arrival gate. The airport is surprisingly huge, and the international terminal is on the opposite end of the airport of where we landed.

We arrived at the far gate of the terminal at 3:15PM, five minutes ahead of schedule, and parked next to a Cathay Pacific Boeing 777.

At that point I cleared immigration and customs (which included some interesting questioning), and then headed to the domestic terminal, for my Japan Airlines Airbus A350-900 first class flight to Tokyo Haneda.

Bottom line

I walked away from my short haul Korean Air A321neo business class flight with the same impression I had on my long haul Korean Air 787-10 business class flight. It was a pleasant experience, but Korean Air is definitely a second tier Asian carrier.

The seats were comfortable, the entertainment and Wi-Fi were good, and the service was friendly and well intentioned. That being said, the soft product is otherwise lacking, including the food and drinks, as well as the service protocol.

While I wouldn’t hesitate to fly Korean Air if the airline had the best schedule or fare, I also wouldn’t specifically seek out the airline, and there are many Asian carriers I’d choose ahead of Korean Air.

What do you make of Korean Air’s Airbus A321neo business class?