LAX-SEL OZ201 9/24
My first experience on OZ. Upon entering the aircraft, I was greeted by no less than 4 separate crew members. The area leading to the stairs has economy seats, not business. I stow the roller and a laptop in the closet, and settle into 14B. The cabin is a little dated, and rather disappointing. The seats are comfortable, but the upholstery shows its age. No individual screens, no laptop power, no phone, and the center console is loose. The tray table sticks and is encrusted with vintage sauces. In comparison, the Korean Air flight on the last trip had a much newer cabin.
The crew, on the other hand, is top notch. I'm offered a drink right off the bat - I choose orange. There were smiles everywhere, and that just brightens things no matter what. I asked the FA with dimples (Ms. Kwon) if I can visit the cockpit. She says yes, and asks me to follow her to the cockpit. I was momentarily speechless at the sight of all the buttons and gauges. There were three cockpit crew (one relief pilot), and we spoke briefly. I mentioned that I am I student pilot, and it livened things up a bit. They're ready for push back, so I was asked to return to my seat, but was they invited to visit once airborne! WOW!
The safety video had sign language in addition to English and Korean, and used a mixture of animation and real people. Taxi took a bit longer than usual, and upon rotation, there was a rather disturbing shutter throughout the entire cabin, which continued until we broke through the marine layer.
In-flight service began about 10 minutes after takeoff. I got a hot towel, then a lunch menu. I know most FT'ers light up at the mention of food, so I'll spend some time here. The appetizer was seared tuna, duck breast with oyster sauce and lemon wedge. The tuna was rolled in a fashion similar to sushi. It was very tender, and I like the smoked flavor. The duck breast tasted dry, and I don't think I could taste the oyster sauce. The mixed green salad with oriental dressing had slices of bamboo sprouts (very good!) and cherry tomatoes, all of which were perfect as my obligatory daily green intake required by my better half. I didn't use the dressing, I prefer plain salads, but the dressing tasted pretty good - its very light, and there are sesame seeds in there.
Main course was a choice of beef short rib "bul-gal-bi" accompanied by fried rice, bok choi and baby carrot, or grilled cod fillet fish served with blackened sauce, presented with vegetable rataouille and tomato rice. There is also a Korean specialty choice, but I won't attempt to describe what I don't know. The FAs took the orders from the front, and by the time they got to me, only the beef and the Korean specialty were available, so beef it is. It was served on a VERY hot plate, and the rice is the Asian sticky kind, not the Uncle Ben loose rice. The beef was cooked longer than I like, but the sauce was very good. The baby carrots were steamed and kept too long, so they were too soft for my liking. The main course was followed by cheese and fresh fruits. Two kinds of cheese were available, but I don't know what's what. There were berries, fruit preserves (fresh fruit?), and very sweet grapes. Last but not least, a carrot cake for dessert. I've got a huge sweet tooth, so this was obviously my favorite dish. Oh, I was also offered port wine, which I've never tried before. I thought it tasted like low octane cognac. One last thing, there was a set of porcelain salt & pepper shakers in its own little tray with the Asiana emblem on them. However, they didn't find their way to my coat pocket by accident. In fact, they were collected from each tray and stored separately, so it would be obvious if they were missing.
The crew of 3 is very efficient, and the upper deck was fed and cleared rather quickly. Then the FAs began peddling duty free stuff, and I waited anxiously for them to finish so I can ask about my cockpit visit. The lights were dimmed for the first (forgot the name) of 2 movies. I wasn't interested in this one but "October Sky" is the second movie, and I heard it was good. However, at this point I was even more interested in heading up front and seeing the September Sky for myself! I even went back to the closet to dig out my camera with the help of Ms. Kwon, whose dimpled smile reminds me of my ex (it a good thing).
Unfortunately, when she asked, the captain said they are changing crews in 2 hours, and it would be better after the change. Oh well, what's a little more waiting, UA mileage statements have trained me well for that. I returned to my seat and closed my eyes. By the time I woke up, both movies were done! I went back to get some water. While I was drinking, the other FA told me the captain says I can visit now! I grabbed the camera and followed the FA. The flight deck was much brighter than the upper deck cabin. There wasn't much to see out the front windows, clouds had smeared out the horizon. The captain, Mr. Park, and the first officer were very friendly and we spoke of their flying experience, my flying experience, and the cockpit instruments. Captain Park was an F-4 pilot with the ROKAF, but the first officer came through ab-initio training. They were very patient in answering my questions - transoceanic navigation is by IRS, similar to INS, communications at this point is via HF, the navigation computer shows waypoints by coordinates, they don't use GPS for navigation! I also asked why we headed west so early, near San Francisco instead of Portland like my last trip, and they explained that we needed to do that to avoid the jetstream further north. As is, we had about a 50kt headwind. The FA tried to take pictures for me in the cockpit, but I didn't set the film properly, and it took the captain to correct it! The first officer even let me sit in the right seat, and took a picture for me! I would hate myself if these pictures don't turn out because I screwed up the film! I was in there for a total of maybe 10 minutes, what an experience! I tried to nap after that, but there was no way. I ended up watching America's Funnies Home Videos and Tom and Jerry on the overhead monitor.
There was snoring all around me, and later in the flight, there seemed to be a problem with odor control in the aft lavatory. Over Japan, a "snack" was served that put US domestic meals to shame. Appetizer of smoked salmon, scallops, and marinated vegetable salad with Italian dressing. The salmon was excellent in both quality and quantity! The slices felt like they just melted in my mouth. The salad had sliced red and green bell peppers as well as zucchini, and the dressing tasted like it had a little too much vinegar. A choice of lemon chicken with fried rice or vegetable Lasagna with broccoli and cherry tomatoes was available. I chose the chicken. Very well done, the chicken was very juicy, not dry, and the sauce was excellent. Desert is tiramisu cake, one of my favorites, and it was heaven. Meanwhile, there was a Korean sports show on the monitors, and one of the segments featured '99 TDF champion Lance Armstrong! It is a very good show.
I noticed many of the passengers weren't wearing their seatbelts, even though the flight was rather bumpy most of the time. After cleanup, there was a short stretching and exercise video, with Ms. Kwon doing the demo. I thought it was a good idea to have stretches before arrival. We land just about on time, and roll into the gate quickly.
SEL-TAE KE1519 9/25
We were in a panic, we had about 50 minutes to go through immigration and customs, make the connection, and domestic flights are in a different terminal accessible by bus only. We breeze through immigration and customs, get some Korean currency, and head for the shuttle stop. The bus showed up after 5 minutes and brought us there pretty quickly. Check in was pretty quick at the English agent, and I decided to check my roller just in case the flight was full. Enter the boarding pass-required gate area, go through yet another x-ray and metal detector, and gate 29 was right in front of us. When all was done, we had about 10 minutes to boarding time! I hand my boarding pass to the gate agent, and she says they require a passport number on the boarding pass. No problem, write it down and try again. I have seat 49A, but they don't start with 1 on the MD-82, instead, the first row is 28 - go figure.
KE1519 has an all-coach configuration, and its about 60% full. The seat pitch is better than United Shuttle. The aircraft is very old, but clean. I have the exit row over the wing, and I notice there is no extra room! In fact, my seat would actually obstruct parts of the exit if an emergency were to occur! The one good thing, consistent with all Asian airlines, is the courtesy of the crew. I must have been greeted by every single staff except for the cockpit crew, and as I examined the safety card, an FA came over and turned on the overhead light for me. However, I do question the capability of these FAs to handle an emergency. I suspect they emphasize customer service, while US airlines emphasize safety. Why can't we just have both? Domestic flights in Korea are bilingual, with all announcements repeated in English. The safety demonstration was very brief, consisting of a demo of seat belt operation, and please review the safety card in front of you. After push back, the ground crew stood in a line and waved goodbye to the entire aircraft. We depart on time, the flight was brief, cruising at 17,000 feet, with a total time of 45 minutes.
It is amazing how an efficient crew can serve drinks to all passengers and clean up within 40 minutes. Once again, lots of passengers unbuckled their seatbelts before the light was turned off. We arrive on time, and I can see some F-4s in the hardened shelters. Exiting was done at the front and rear of the aircraft - there were no jetways. Baggage arrived on the belt shortly after us, talk about efficiency! We exit the airport only to be hounded by taxi drivers with exorbitant fares.
[This message has been edited by Indurain (edited 10-10-1999).]