Asiana OZ542 A380 First Class to Incheon
Around an hour before departure, I headed out for some exercise and the long trek to far end of the B concourse and Gate B46.
Now that's one way to get around FRA.
Gate lice, Asiana style.
Frankfurt-Seoul Incheon
Asiana 542
A380-800
7:00p-12:20p +1
April 11, 2017
Departed 3/12
Seat 2K
Not a good start as First Class was lumped in with Business Class and Star Alliance Gold when boarding commenced.
First and Economy are both on the lower deck and board down the same jet bridge...
... until the split to 1L.
I really like the fact that Asiana configured its A380 to have First Class on the more spacious lower deck.
Lovely and spacious cabin and with privacy doors.
My Suite 2K was roomy and very nice.
Love the doors.
And the huge TV screen.
A major negative as there is only one First Class lav. Not as elegant as Emirates or Lufthansa's A380 First Class lavs. With only 3 passengers tonight, the single lav was not an issue. I just wouldn't want to be in a full F cabin flight.
Major point deduction as Asiana apparently refuses to pay the local alcohol tax and only offers non-alcoholic pre departure beverages.
On the other hand, extra points for a great Ferragamo amenity kit.
With great stuff you can take home and actually use. Tuscan Soul is one of favorite travel hand creams.
Tonight's menu. Attractive packaging with an adequate but not overly generous selection.
But the "wine list". Yikes. This one isn't even worthy of Business Class.
Sure hope they are paying these three well as I'd be embarrassed to have my name on this list.
Robert Mondavi Chardonnay??? Seriously? And the Fleur Cardinale Grand Cru was either corked or just bad from the get go.
Showtime as I went with the Korean option tonight.
The Pan Fried Yam was light and refreshing.
Unforunatly, the poor man's Laurent Perrier and not the Grand Siecle.
The surprise of the night was the caviar... beautiful set up and presentation. And delicious.
The other starters were just OK.
What little duck was good but there just wasn't enough to satisfy.
For my main, I went with the Korean Royal Cuisine, Bibimbap and Grilled Cod. The cod was moist and delicious. The bibimbap was good but not like on Korean probably because I don't know how to add the right proportion of ingredients.
I watched La La Land and for the life of me, can't figure out how it won any awards. Jeez. And then to bed in 1K.
About 3 hours later, I woke up starving. Apparently too much air in that bibimbap dish. The Udon was OK but the ham, cheese and tomato sandwich was just what the doctor ordered.
Another movie and it was time for breakfast or "Brunch" as the menu describes it. This was actually pretty good.
The croissant and muffin were both delicious.
We arrived on time after what all in all was a pleasant 10 hour flight. Service was excellent throughout, the cabin was comfy but it's just not a top tier First Class product. Food is average, the wine list pathetic and First Class ground service non-existent. There is no snack bar or bar of any kind for that matter. And the lack of Wifi in 2017 is unforgivable. Only Air France can get away with that these days. While I wouldn't go out of my way to fly them, they are certainly better than Air China and BA, but not as good overall as even Korean.
The arrival process at ICN is very efficient and dispute the lack of any Fast Track or Priority immigration, it only took a few minutes to be processed.
The fastest way to get to the city is by the Express Train. I just followed the signs for Airport Railroad.
Paid my 8500 KRW (or about US$7.50) and followed the signs to my 1pm train.
Although seats are assigned when you buy your ticket, there were lots of open seats and you're free to sit anywhere. Very clean. And free Wifi!
Some 43 minutes later, we were at Seoul Station. It's not for
Mrs. SFO777, but a very clean and efficient way to get to the city.
