Korean Air Flight 23 on the new 747-8i in First
Nov 26, 2015, 5:43 pm
#1
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Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: SJC, SFO
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Posts: 351
Korean Air Flight 23 on the new 747-8i in First
I had the entire report almost ready but it got lost when I let too much time elapse since last night.... sigh, so here it goes again from scratch.
This is also available with additional commentary at: https://airsicktravel.blogspot.com/2...rst-class.html
This was the last flight of an 8 week long vacation around the world, I had 19 flights. Now I'm too lazy to type out the entire list of flights so I'll just say the F flights of interest vs this flight were the BA F flight from JFK-LHR and the F QR A380 flight from DOH-BKK (after sleeping in the new DOH 1st lounge)
Ground Experience
I learned that if you're flying on Asiana, Korean and Jeju air, you could check-in, drop off bags and go thru immigrations at the Seoul train station before taking the AREX express train to ICN. I was nervous whether the bags would make it safely or if they'd be able to tag the luggage as priority but they did have a separate F/C check-in counter (but no separate F counter) and they were able to tag the luggage appropriately. She offered to wrap our luggage which we accepted. At NRT, they also wrapped our luggage on a NRT-ICN F flight. At the least, it makes id'ing your bag on the carousel really easy.
In SFO, our bags were indeed #1 and ~#5 on the carousel, and it seemed like the Asian carriers (JL, HX) seemed to actually put out the priority bags first. Whereas USAir and BA seemed to actually put them out last if at all.
(BA lost my bag once)
I had taken the regular (all stops) AREX train on the way in to Seoul and I would try to avoid it even if it's cheaper (we're talking 8000won vs 4x00won, so like ~$3 difference, also the 8000won gets discounted to 6900 if flying on KE, OZ, Jeju too I suppose) as the trains are subway style and you can only check in and drop off your bags if you're on the express train but they didn't check in our case. Also, sometimes the schedule doesn't align and it may sometimes be faster to take the regular train in, which is what we did.
After getting to the airport and going straight to the nearest security checkpoint, we asked where the crew security lane was and was told it was over there but since the line here is short, it would be faster to just go through here. Biggest mistake ever! The agent (a different one later after the x-ray machine) would end up taking out every single little thing out of my backpack and there were lots of things in my backpack. At least she offered to put them back in which I declined.
After that, we didn't have that much time in the lounge, I had read reviews of the KAL first class lounge so I knew about what to expect so wasn't surprised by anything, the food I thought was ok but agree that it's not really fitting of a first class lounge in the home airport of a major int'l carrier. I ate the hot items which were ok but not good and had a shower while they made our luggage tags and also used the massage chair (they only have 2) before checking the time and got to the gate as they were just beginning to announce final call.
The lounge agents didn't announce boarding and they didn't tell me they wouldn't be announcing it. I forgot to ask and it's not a big deal as I don't rely on it anyway but would have been nice to either be told to watch the time on my own or have it be announced.
shower in the lounge, I just noticed the uneven triangular fold on the TP
luggage tag
Learning my lesson, I'm going to post in installments. Next is the in-plane experience.
This is also available with additional commentary at: https://airsicktravel.blogspot.com/2...rst-class.html
This was the last flight of an 8 week long vacation around the world, I had 19 flights. Now I'm too lazy to type out the entire list of flights so I'll just say the F flights of interest vs this flight were the BA F flight from JFK-LHR and the F QR A380 flight from DOH-BKK (after sleeping in the new DOH 1st lounge)
Ground Experience
I learned that if you're flying on Asiana, Korean and Jeju air, you could check-in, drop off bags and go thru immigrations at the Seoul train station before taking the AREX express train to ICN. I was nervous whether the bags would make it safely or if they'd be able to tag the luggage as priority but they did have a separate F/C check-in counter (but no separate F counter) and they were able to tag the luggage appropriately. She offered to wrap our luggage which we accepted. At NRT, they also wrapped our luggage on a NRT-ICN F flight. At the least, it makes id'ing your bag on the carousel really easy.
In SFO, our bags were indeed #1 and ~#5 on the carousel, and it seemed like the Asian carriers (JL, HX) seemed to actually put out the priority bags first. Whereas USAir and BA seemed to actually put them out last if at all.
(BA lost my bag once)I had taken the regular (all stops) AREX train on the way in to Seoul and I would try to avoid it even if it's cheaper (we're talking 8000won vs 4x00won, so like ~$3 difference, also the 8000won gets discounted to 6900 if flying on KE, OZ, Jeju too I suppose) as the trains are subway style and you can only check in and drop off your bags if you're on the express train but they didn't check in our case. Also, sometimes the schedule doesn't align and it may sometimes be faster to take the regular train in, which is what we did.
After getting to the airport and going straight to the nearest security checkpoint, we asked where the crew security lane was and was told it was over there but since the line here is short, it would be faster to just go through here. Biggest mistake ever! The agent (a different one later after the x-ray machine) would end up taking out every single little thing out of my backpack and there were lots of things in my backpack. At least she offered to put them back in which I declined.
After that, we didn't have that much time in the lounge, I had read reviews of the KAL first class lounge so I knew about what to expect so wasn't surprised by anything, the food I thought was ok but agree that it's not really fitting of a first class lounge in the home airport of a major int'l carrier. I ate the hot items which were ok but not good and had a shower while they made our luggage tags and also used the massage chair (they only have 2) before checking the time and got to the gate as they were just beginning to announce final call.
The lounge agents didn't announce boarding and they didn't tell me they wouldn't be announcing it. I forgot to ask and it's not a big deal as I don't rely on it anyway but would have been nice to either be told to watch the time on my own or have it be announced.
shower in the lounge, I just noticed the uneven triangular fold on the TP
luggage tag
Learning my lesson, I'm going to post in installments. Next is the in-plane experience.
Last edited by Matthew330Ci; May 7, 2016 at 12:47 pm
Nov 26, 2015, 6:20 pm
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: SJC, SFO
Programs: Motel 6 Super Diamond
Posts: 351
On board
Seat 2A which would be my home for the next 9h 42m. I had 4.5 windows to myself, but it's a lot of work to close them all by hand. QR and BA had automatic shades.
The cabin is laid out in a 1:1 3 row pattern on the pointy end on the lower deck so the seats in the 1st row are closer to each other and row 3 they are the farthest apart but there is also a protruding table/shelf between the seats on row 3 so it's not like you can do gymnastics like I was expecting to.
https://www.koreanair.com/global/en/...-seat-map.html
Also, the 2 bathrooms aft of 1st class are closed off to C, so the C lav on the lower deck has to be shared between 26 pax.
The bathrooms are nothing spectacular, it's a bit bigger than a regular Y bathroom with a fold-down seat for changing. But it's big enough where it doesn't feel cramped. I think it's bigger than the BA F bathroom but much smaller than the gigantic QR A380 F bathroom.
My mom and I sat in 2a and 2k and when you're sitting, even with the door open, you can't see anyone else. Even when you lean forward a lot, you just see the legs of the passenger on the other side. It was on my bucket list to fly in a seat with a door but now I really don't see much point at least not the way it's on this plane. You can still see the heads of the FAs as they walk by when you're sitting and you already can't see any of the other passengers anyway. I do suppose when you're lying down it would maybe block the view of people walking by (but I was out shortly after lying down so I didn't really have a chance to tell).
On the BA and QR flights I think a door would have made more of a difference, but this is a testament to how private the seats are on this Korean plane.
the door closed
There are no overhead compartments, instead they have a spacious closet at each seat. Actually I don't know if they have a separate area where they could store your carryons if you have a proper carryon. The FAs always offered and did put all my clothes on the hangers, both my jacket at first as well as the bags and later after I changed into my pajamas, they hung my clothes on the hangers as well even when I said I can do it myself.
Here's the amenity kit with Davi branded products, pajamas and the Bose headphones
There are also slippers in a nice big bag which make it easy to put back in.
The amenity kit is nice but was missing earplugs and socks. The pajamas are the best of the 3 between QR, BA and KE. I got a BA small, a QR S/M (they only have a combined S/M size) and a KE medium. They all fit well but the QR's felt a bit too slim-fit, and I'm a pretty slim guy, BA's fit well and had pockets in the pants while the other 2 didn't, but KE's had the best material feel and were the most comfortable.
Also, the flight itself wasn't noticeably hot. I did wake up once where I was too warm but the comforter is pretty thick, so I just kicked off parts of the comforter to make myself cooler and slept without incident except for....
turbulence! We were told before taking off that we'd have turbulence the whole flight but this was the strongest, most violent flight I've experienced. Thankfully, I kept going back to sleep after being jolted awake a few times.
Seat Comfort
The seats on this flight were the most comfortable out of the 3 F flights. With the most comfortable bed. QR's bed was pretty close and the BA's bed frankly felt a bit angled to me and were the least comfortable but I was able to still sleep on all 3 flights without incident.
The seats between this and the QR flight are about the same in size both while sitting down and lying down while BA's is the least spacious but I don't think that's a surprise to anyone. The seats themselves can move forward while dining, it didn't seem like the table itself moved.
I also didn't find the color scheme to be a bother, it's just pleasantly neutral where I didn't really notice it even after reading some FT'ers saying it looked like a hospital from the pictures.
IFE
The remote is responsive (I didn't try to see if the monitor itself was touch screen, it would be pointless as it's too far away anyway) and the cameras that look down and forward worked. (they didn't work on the QR flight)
The movie/tv selection was somewhat limited but they had a good selection of recent hit movies. There were Korean/Japanese/Chinese options as well.
Menus
Details of the Hansik Jeongchan which I had
Champagne list
Seat 2A which would be my home for the next 9h 42m. I had 4.5 windows to myself, but it's a lot of work to close them all by hand.
QR and BA had automatic shades.The cabin is laid out in a 1:1 3 row pattern on the pointy end on the lower deck so the seats in the 1st row are closer to each other and row 3 they are the farthest apart but there is also a protruding table/shelf between the seats on row 3 so it's not like you can do gymnastics like I was expecting to.
https://www.koreanair.com/global/en/...-seat-map.html
Also, the 2 bathrooms aft of 1st class are closed off to C, so the C lav on the lower deck has to be shared between 26 pax.
The bathrooms are nothing spectacular, it's a bit bigger than a regular Y bathroom with a fold-down seat for changing. But it's big enough where it doesn't feel cramped. I think it's bigger than the BA F bathroom but much smaller than the gigantic QR A380 F bathroom.
My mom and I sat in 2a and 2k and when you're sitting, even with the door open, you can't see anyone else. Even when you lean forward a lot, you just see the legs of the passenger on the other side. It was on my bucket list to fly in a seat with a door but now I really don't see much point at least not the way it's on this plane. You can still see the heads of the FAs as they walk by when you're sitting and you already can't see any of the other passengers anyway. I do suppose when you're lying down it would maybe block the view of people walking by (but I was out shortly after lying down so I didn't really have a chance to tell).
On the BA and QR flights I think a door would have made more of a difference, but this is a testament to how private the seats are on this Korean plane.
the door closed
There are no overhead compartments, instead they have a spacious closet at each seat. Actually I don't know if they have a separate area where they could store your carryons if you have a proper carryon. The FAs always offered and did put all my clothes on the hangers, both my jacket at first as well as the bags and later after I changed into my pajamas, they hung my clothes on the hangers as well even when I said I can do it myself.
Here's the amenity kit with Davi branded products, pajamas and the Bose headphones
There are also slippers in a nice big bag which make it easy to put back in.
The amenity kit is nice but was missing earplugs and socks. The pajamas are the best of the 3 between QR, BA and KE. I got a BA small, a QR S/M (they only have a combined S/M size) and a KE medium. They all fit well but the QR's felt a bit too slim-fit, and I'm a pretty slim guy, BA's fit well and had pockets in the pants while the other 2 didn't, but KE's had the best material feel and were the most comfortable.
Also, the flight itself wasn't noticeably hot. I did wake up once where I was too warm but the comforter is pretty thick, so I just kicked off parts of the comforter to make myself cooler and slept without incident except for....
turbulence! We were told before taking off that we'd have turbulence the whole flight but this was the strongest, most violent flight I've experienced. Thankfully, I kept going back to sleep after being jolted awake a few times.
Seat Comfort
The seats on this flight were the most comfortable out of the 3 F flights. With the most comfortable bed. QR's bed was pretty close and the BA's bed frankly felt a bit angled to me and were the least comfortable but I was able to still sleep on all 3 flights without incident.
The seats between this and the QR flight are about the same in size both while sitting down and lying down while BA's is the least spacious but I don't think that's a surprise to anyone. The seats themselves can move forward while dining, it didn't seem like the table itself moved.
I also didn't find the color scheme to be a bother, it's just pleasantly neutral where I didn't really notice it even after reading some FT'ers saying it looked like a hospital from the pictures.
IFE
The remote is responsive (I didn't try to see if the monitor itself was touch screen, it would be pointless as it's too far away anyway) and the cameras that look down and forward worked. (they didn't work on the QR flight)
The movie/tv selection was somewhat limited but they had a good selection of recent hit movies. There were Korean/Japanese/Chinese options as well.
Menus
Details of the Hansik Jeongchan which I had
Champagne list
Last edited by Matthew330Ci; Nov 26, 2015 at 6:43 pm
Nov 26, 2015, 7:12 pm
#5
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: SJC, SFO
Programs: Motel 6 Super Diamond
Posts: 351
Meal service
The seared scallop with black mushroom with spicy orange sauce, I think it was ok but I don't like mushrooms
Bread
I requested the caviar service, even though it doesn't come with the Korean Hansik option
I have no idea if this is good caviar or not
I did enjoy this caviar more than the one I had on the QR flight but I prefer the eggs and onions to be separate like it was on the QR flight. There was no caviar on the BA flight.
wild sesame soup with stuffed bean curd, pretty good, I'm no food critic so that's about as descriptive as you're going to get.
salad. They make it by your seat, I asked for everything with the Korean soy-sauce based dressing, she said it's salty so she'd put a little in. I didn't like the dressing but the salad was fresh. I had already eaten before I remembered to take this pic.
side dishes (look at menu post above) + braised chicken stew + rice
the side dishes tasted fresh and carefully prepared, I especially liked the walnuts. The chicken stew was very tender and good, looked like it had egg.
Spicy vegetable soup and spicy braised hairtail added, it was a little bit spicy and true to the 1 pepper rating on the menu. Both were good and tasted authentically Korean but not sure if they'd agree with a typical Western palate. If you like Korean food, you'll like it, if not, then maybe not but you should usually get the Asian option on an Asian carrier. I had the salmon on the prior flight on KE and it was bland while my mom's bibimbap was good. If you look at the menu carefully, I could have had bibimbap instead of the hairtail on this flight.
Fruit and cheese, fruit was fruit, I didn't like any of the cheeses but I'm not a big cheese guy
sweet potato balls in red bean paste, the balls were good, the red beans were ok but I hate red beans
Green tea (bag), you can see the effects of turbulence in the tea cup.
Breakfast
I was woken by my mom with about 45-50 mins left in the flight and served breakfast after they cleaned up my bed while I changed.
Omelette with bacon, it was fine, not memorable, bacon not crispy
Croissant with jam/olive oil
Fruits
Overall, the dinner service took a while but it felt about the right pace, I think we were 3 hrs into the flight by the time everything was cleared. Also, they weren't as careful about placing the utensils as I had read in other TRs. My tablecloth was upside down (the plane design was upside down) and my plates were consistently placed a bit to my left and not quite centered. But these are truly first world problems and nothing that bothered me, just something I noticed. I think QR and BA were both more careful.
Conclusion
Realized I didn't wrap everything up. This was the flight I looked forward to the most on my trip and as a grand finale, it certainly did not disappoint. Even with the violent turbulence, I had a great sleep and after landing at 9AM SFO time, had a good day where I felt drowsy in the afternoon (which normally happens anyway but not to this degree) but managed to stay awake until 9:30PM. It was certainly the best flight out of the 19 flights. The hard product is excellent. The service is very good and attentive but not as polished as QR where the service was the best I've experienced. The food was very good. Overall, a wonderful end to a wonderful trip.
The seared scallop with black mushroom with spicy orange sauce, I think it was ok but I don't like mushrooms
Bread
I requested the caviar service, even though it doesn't come with the Korean Hansik option
I have no idea if this is good caviar or not
I did enjoy this caviar more than the one I had on the QR flight but I prefer the eggs and onions to be separate like it was on the QR flight. There was no caviar on the BA flight.
wild sesame soup with stuffed bean curd, pretty good, I'm no food critic so that's about as descriptive as you're going to get.
salad. They make it by your seat, I asked for everything with the Korean soy-sauce based dressing, she said it's salty so she'd put a little in. I didn't like the dressing but the salad was fresh. I had already eaten before I remembered to take this pic.
side dishes (look at menu post above) + braised chicken stew + rice
the side dishes tasted fresh and carefully prepared, I especially liked the walnuts. The chicken stew was very tender and good, looked like it had egg.
Spicy vegetable soup and spicy braised hairtail added, it was a little bit spicy and true to the 1 pepper rating on the menu. Both were good and tasted authentically Korean but not sure if they'd agree with a typical Western palate. If you like Korean food, you'll like it, if not, then maybe not but you should usually get the Asian option on an Asian carrier. I had the salmon on the prior flight on KE and it was bland while my mom's bibimbap was good. If you look at the menu carefully, I could have had bibimbap instead of the hairtail on this flight.
Fruit and cheese, fruit was fruit, I didn't like any of the cheeses but I'm not a big cheese guy
sweet potato balls in red bean paste, the balls were good, the red beans were ok but I hate red beans
Green tea (bag), you can see the effects of turbulence in the tea cup.
Breakfast
I was woken by my mom with about 45-50 mins left in the flight and served breakfast after they cleaned up my bed while I changed.
Omelette with bacon, it was fine, not memorable, bacon not crispy
Croissant with jam/olive oil
Fruits
Overall, the dinner service took a while but it felt about the right pace, I think we were 3 hrs into the flight by the time everything was cleared. Also, they weren't as careful about placing the utensils as I had read in other TRs. My tablecloth was upside down (the plane design was upside down) and my plates were consistently placed a bit to my left and not quite centered. But these are truly first world problems and nothing that bothered me, just something I noticed. I think QR and BA were both more careful.
Conclusion
Realized I didn't wrap everything up. This was the flight I looked forward to the most on my trip and as a grand finale, it certainly did not disappoint. Even with the violent turbulence, I had a great sleep and after landing at 9AM SFO time, had a good day where I felt drowsy in the afternoon (which normally happens anyway but not to this degree) but managed to stay awake until 9:30PM. It was certainly the best flight out of the 19 flights. The hard product is excellent. The service is very good and attentive but not as polished as QR where the service was the best I've experienced. The food was very good. Overall, a wonderful end to a wonderful trip.
Last edited by Matthew330Ci; Nov 26, 2015 at 10:33 pm
Nov 26, 2015, 8:28 pm
#6
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: San Francisco
Programs: 1K 2.2MM
Posts: 2,352
I was just on OZ First Class SFO-ICN last week...and they seem to really copy each other. Seat seems the same except for the color. Menu very similar. Caviar service on OZ was great, rest of food very good, but your meal seems a notch better.
Nov 26, 2015, 9:40 pm
#8
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: SJC, SFO
Programs: Motel 6 Super Diamond
Posts: 351
Me too, it's my favorite plane, it just looks 'right'. The proportions are just so classic. I stopped for a second to admire the plane after we deplaned.
Nov 27, 2015, 5:12 am
#12
Join Date: Sep 2012
Posts: 225
Nov 29, 2015, 8:39 pm
#13
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Join Date: Nov 2005
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Wow! What a great trip reports!!! ^^^^
I'm so glad you had a great flight. I'm glad that you flew on first 747-8i. I don't see more pictures of the aircraft, cabin, and etc.
So please do that for me next time. Hope you have a great time.
I'm so glad you had a great flight. I'm glad that you flew on first 747-8i. I don't see more pictures of the aircraft, cabin, and etc.
So please do that for me next time. Hope you have a great time.
Jan 4, 2016, 8:34 am
#14
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Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Benicia, California, USA
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Posts: 10,820
Just came across this excellent TR. Thanks so much for sharing it!
Thanks too for the comparisons with the BA and QR F flights. I would have welcomed even more comparisons with aspects of those flights and a few shots of the 747-8i cabin. But those are just quibbles. This is a very useful TR.
And speaking of comparisons, have you flown the Korean Air 380 in F? And if so, which did you prefer?
Anyway, thanks again!
Thanks too for the comparisons with the BA and QR F flights. I would have welcomed even more comparisons with aspects of those flights and a few shots of the 747-8i cabin. But those are just quibbles. This is a very useful TR.
And speaking of comparisons, have you flown the Korean Air 380 in F? And if so, which did you prefer?
Anyway, thanks again!