Originally Posted by ryandelany

I'm in the same boat and just made my first trip this year since they pulled out of TPE. I ended up flying SLC - SEA - ICN - TPE and even used a GUC from SLC - ICN which was awesome as expected. Once arriving in ICN though, I largely felt no real partnership existed with CI with the only exception being the Sky Priority boarding. The A330 on ICN - TPE is horribly outdated (with a vanity mirror, 6" outdated IFE, and a slot to hold an old cell phone in the seatback) and I didn't get any acknowledgement of my status (not that I really care, it was just interesting to see others post here about it). I think the worst part though is the scheduling. I had a 4 hour layover on the way here and have a 7 hour layover on the way back. ICN is a nice enough airport, but not sure how I'll feel after being there for 7 hours later this week! The KAL Lounge is a joke, but thanks to Priority Pass from my Chase Sapphire Reserve, there are 7 other lounges you can use. I visited 3 of them on the way here and the Asiana Lounge in Terminal A is quite nice and the Sky Hub Lounge in the main terminal had some decent food.

I hope the DL/KE JV helps add additional flights with better timing and opens back up west coast routes on the A380 and allows me to use GUCs! I have to come to Taipei a few times a year usually, and it's a brutal trip at the moment (full 24 hours from door to door).

Ryan