G702TT
Jun 15, 12, 9:47 pm
Well, last week I went to an open house tour of the new international Terminal 3 at the Las Vegas McCarran Airport. It is spectacular and a huge upgrade compared to the old, dingy and poorly serviced terminal 2. Travelers on KE will definitely get a much better first impression when they first arrive into LAS. Information on the new terminal can be found at: http://www.mccarran.com/T3-Information/
Now I haven't flown much lately but I was thinking of making a trip to Hong Kong and have the urge to connect through ICN to HKG by leaving right from this new terminal in my hometown from 7/4-7/9.
The problem though is that there are some big tradeoffs in comparison to me driving 375 miles to LAX and leaving from there. It turns out, KE uses the A330 on the LAS route with the old prestige angled seat. And there is an arrival time into ICN of 4:00am so no access to the prestige lounge until 6:30am when it opens giving me little time to relax by the time the connecting flight leaves. I just would be wandering around a desolate terminal at ICN with nothing to do and nothing open that early. The lowest RT discounted business class fare in I from LAS is $5013.
On the other hand, there are Airbus A380's on all 4 flights for this itinerary leaving from LAX at 1pm on 7/4. So the new lie-flat Prestige Sleeper is on every flight. And the lowest available business class fare in I is almost $1000 less!
I really wanted the convenience of leaving from the nice new LAS international terminal compared to LAX which I hate. But the tradeoff is by not choosing LAX, I forfeit a better aircraft, the newer Prestige seat, better scheduling, access to the lounge upon arrival on the outbound connection and an airfare that is $1000 less (even though LAS is only about 375 miles from LAX).
There seems to be a much more enjoyable KE experience if I am willing to put up with LAX and getting there. On the other hand, by paying $5013 and leaving from an LAS airport 10 minutes from my house, I am supporting KE's LAS route in effect making a small vote in favor of them keeping it! I have no idea what to do so I just might not do anything:(. They just need one consistent product and keep things simple.
Now I haven't flown much lately but I was thinking of making a trip to Hong Kong and have the urge to connect through ICN to HKG by leaving right from this new terminal in my hometown from 7/4-7/9.
The problem though is that there are some big tradeoffs in comparison to me driving 375 miles to LAX and leaving from there. It turns out, KE uses the A330 on the LAS route with the old prestige angled seat. And there is an arrival time into ICN of 4:00am so no access to the prestige lounge until 6:30am when it opens giving me little time to relax by the time the connecting flight leaves. I just would be wandering around a desolate terminal at ICN with nothing to do and nothing open that early. The lowest RT discounted business class fare in I from LAS is $5013.
On the other hand, there are Airbus A380's on all 4 flights for this itinerary leaving from LAX at 1pm on 7/4. So the new lie-flat Prestige Sleeper is on every flight. And the lowest available business class fare in I is almost $1000 less!
I really wanted the convenience of leaving from the nice new LAS international terminal compared to LAX which I hate. But the tradeoff is by not choosing LAX, I forfeit a better aircraft, the newer Prestige seat, better scheduling, access to the lounge upon arrival on the outbound connection and an airfare that is $1000 less (even though LAS is only about 375 miles from LAX).
There seems to be a much more enjoyable KE experience if I am willing to put up with LAX and getting there. On the other hand, by paying $5013 and leaving from an LAS airport 10 minutes from my house, I am supporting KE's LAS route in effect making a small vote in favor of them keeping it! I have no idea what to do so I just might not do anything:(. They just need one consistent product and keep things simple.