The morning departure and the long distance between Incheon and Seoul meant I had to wake up really early to catch one of the first airport bus to the airport. Upon reaching the airport, I head for the First Class check in counters, but one of the gate agents insisted the Narita service has no First cabin. That doesn't seem right does it? I was half worried they changed the plane to a smaller jet which had no first class. But after being shown the Business counter to check in, it turns out the agent was wrong after all! Hmm frequent flyers or travellers who reads FlyerTalk are indeed more knowledgeable than some airline employees!


Main Entrance to the Asiana First Lounge

So I was checked in quickly and after that, the check in agent even escorted me past the queues in security via a discreet door to priority security. She proceeded past immigrations, which I cleared very quickly as well since the customs officer were generally very efficient. The benefits of an escort is how hassle free the whole process was, but it also meant I had no chance to explore the terminal and even forgot to refund my tax refunds as I was just taking it all in stride. The agent escorted me to the Asiana First Class lounge where I was able to obtain a locker to store my belongings. I always value lounges with lockers and this is considered essential for me.


Seating Area


Grand Piano in the Lounge

The lounge is huge and had a separate dining area with lots of space. I doubt it will ever get crowded since there was really plenty of seating, though the restrooms are a bit small compared to the rest of the lounge. In terms of decor, it reminded me of an American library with the dark cherry wood panelling and it comes with a grand piano in the centre dividing the lounge from the dining area. Food selection was good with made to order noodles, and there was also Haagen Dazs ice cream as dessert. However, I have to say that Cathay Pacific does a better job with lounges at their home base. There was also a lack of Korean food choices for a Korean based airline I think. Personally, I would have liked more dining choices like Shin Ramyun or some Korean Pumpkin Porridge rather than that huge amount of unused space which wasn't that private anyway. The morning also saw some crowds in the restrooms as travellers seems to wash up before boarding, and the small size of the restrooms relative to the lounge is indeed the failings of its design.


Wood Panelling with a Library Theme

I would perhaps very much wanted to explore the airport but didn't since I was too tired out from the early morning departure. For economy class passengers travelling through Incheon, I am pretty sure the airport offers much in terms of entertainment choices such as shopping. And yes the airport duty free shops are already bustling with shoppers early this morning! But I wasn't in the mood to shop and was eagerly awaiting the flight on my second Asiana Airline First Class flight. I picked some newspapers and magazines from the lounge and made my way onto the gate for boarding as soon as my flight was ready for boarding.


Asiana First Class Cabin

OZ102 Seoul ICN - Tokyo NRT
09:00-11:10
09:20-11:06
Boeing 747-400 HL7428
Seat 2K, moved to 2A before take off


Asiana First Class on the 747

First Class on the 747 is always special because of the conical shape of the cabin in the front and the fact that passengers get to sit even more upfront than the pilot. The private feel of the cabin is accentuated by me being the only one on First again. As soon as I showed my boarding pass, I was directed to my seat and helped with my jacket and luggage, similar to my First Suite Class flight on Asiana just a few days ago... While the cabin is old, the service remains one of the best! As I sat down in 2K, I looked around and decided to move myself to seat 2A by notifying the stewardess. Ah, the problems of flying in an empty First Class cabin - choosing where to sit.


Seat 2K

Upon being seated, I noticed that the seat was far more comfortable in the default mode which is for take-off and landing compared to the First Suite class. Maybe due to the softer (due to being worn-out) padding or just the way the seat wraps around you more snugly than the wide and firm seat of the Suites but it just felt better to sit in. The suite controls were more similar to Cathay's First Class, and thus no touch-screen controls.


First Class Seat Controls

Before being able to soak it all in, I was offered a choice of drinks and I chose the Ginseng tea once again and while waiting for the drink to be served, I took the time to snap some photos of the cabin, though this time the stewardess did not offer a photo of myself in the seat. No matter as the tea was soon served with the usual small jar of honey and hot towel came along with it. Like before, the stewardess also made sure I have magazines, newspapers and the immigration form that I would need for arrival into Japan. It is all these little details that makes me appreciate First Class.


Pre-departure Beverage


Leaving Incheon


Korean Air Boeing 737

Unlike the First Suites Class, the old First Class cabin onboard Asiana's 747 does not feel as private, though it does feel more spacious without all the doors. The way the seats along the windows are angled, however ensures that most passengers on the sides faces the window and couples would perhaps be best suited to the middle seats which seems to be like the captain and co-captain's chair. Having seen and sat in both products, Asiana's new First Suite Class is definitely a leap forward from their old cabin and would place it amongst airlines with the best First Class Cabin.


Middle Seats

Shortly after I settled into my seat and sip on my Ginseng tea, the plane started its pullback and I relaxed as we slowly taxied to the take-off position for another perk of flying upfront. That is to take photos after take-off from the vantage position with 3 windows. As luck would have it, I should have stayed put at my original seat in 2K for better views, but it didn't matter as I was still able to take great photos of Seoul after the pilot deactivated the seat belt sign and I was able to freely change seats. The stewardess went about doing their business and left me to do mine, but it wasn't long before they entered the cabin to hand me the menu for this short flight to Narita. Even for such as short flight, Asiana still bothered with full size menus and a 3 course meal in First Class, which is really impressive!


City of Seoul