fly747first

Hello everyone. If any of you would kindly comment on the lounge access, onboard menu, services, and amenities from a recent Chicago - Seoul flight with Asiana in First Class, I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you.

thezipper

I did ICN-LAX in the new F... details and pics posted in this thread... enjoy

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=823430

fly747first

Thanks so much zipper. I had actually seen your pics before... they are great! However, I'm asking specifically about the ORD flight because it leaves at a very early time and I'm pretty sure the meal services are going to be quite different than those on the LAX flight.

ORDnHKG

No, even it leaves past mid-night, they still have full dinner service from the cart, last time I had lobster. There are no difference in service as long as 6 months ago except the seat. They don't change the menu as much as SQ and NH. And you will not see much difference in the outbound and inbound menus, expcept return flight there are royal korean meals available, but those have to be pre-ordered. Lounge is still using Swiss in ORD T5.

mike75

Asiana is using JAL Sakura Lounge in ORD T5. Before using JAL Lounge, Swiss lounge was used for Asiana.

daron4000

I flew ORD-ICN in F in February of 2008. The flight was excellent. I would say that it is probably the best travel experience that one can get flying out of ORD with a close nod to NH (given that the only real F competition at ORD is JL, NH, OZ, KE, and maybe LH/LX).
Upon checkin, the agent took her time to attach all the priority stickers in a very thoughtful manner that made me feel special and appreciated as an F passenger. A premium Asiana agent escorted us through security to the JAL Sakura Lounge, perhaps the only letdown of the experience just because it is a room late at night you just want to sleep and there is nothing really to do. The terminal itself is a ghosttown, though so there are no real alternatives.

Once on board, all FA's were there to help in our needs. The normal PJ's, amenity kits, slippers, menus, nuts, drinks were passed out. Classical music nice and soothing (this was old config, I'm sure new config makes it that much better). The dinner service was wonderful and I made my way through it even though we left so late Chicago time. I'd say it probably took an hour-hour and a half to complete and while it was a supper, most of the normal dinner courses were still there. Unfortunately I did not grab the menu from this leg so I'm not sure exactly the order but their was an appetizer, soup, maybe salad I'm not sure, and a great lobster entry (2 other choices), followed by a dessert that I probably skipped for want of sleep.
The FA's make the bed for you and I got a solid 10 hours of great sleep (the flight is entirely in the dark which helps some) before waking for a great breakfast and landing. All in all a fantastic flight! Enjoy.

UA 882

I am still convinced that OZ is ahead of SQ in terms of service and food, and more or less in line with NH. Even in the old F seats, I always managed to sleep really well (I never watched TV because I was always too busy eating or too tired so I just passed out) - I was supposed to try the new product a few weeks ago but had to cancel my trip. Will be interesting to see how it compares to NH.

Enjoy your flight!

MKE-MR

Is this flight scheduled to transition to the new configuration? Last time I took it, it was still a Combi, and it looks like it's still the old seats and IFE from the review above.

Merlion

Khm. According to Asiana web site they have only 2 747 planes right now, so I guess it is converted to new F by now.

ORDnHKG

OZ has never have more than 2 747pax, so what is the difference between now and then ?

The difference is for the 747combi, from 6 down to 2.

fly747first

My flight from ORD to ICN was operated by a 747 combi with the new seats and IFE in all classes. I knew right away since economy/travel class was directly behind first class. I must say that it was a fantastic flight. In particular, the three "assisting pursers" working in F could not have done more for their passengers, nothing was ever too much for them.

mcgahat

Thanks for reporting back fly747first as I am looking to take this flight in a couple of weeks (if award space opens up) and good to hear you got the new F on combi.

Cycloney

Hello,

I have been considering booking this flight to Asia, but I am worried about the real departure day (inexperienced).

If the departure day/time is October 28 1:00am......

Does this mean that my connecting flight must arrive in Chicago the evening of October 27?

Or another way to put this: A departure time of 1:00am on October 28, really means the first hour of October 28. Right?

concol

Yes ... if your OZ flight departs at 01:00 on October 28 you will need your connection to arrive on the evening of October 27. I have heard a few horror stories about conections in ORD. So you may want to make sure you have enough time just in case.

ORDnHKG

To be exact, one should arrive in ORD at least 2 hours if you are connecting from somewhere else. As OZ use T5 departure, domestic flights would arrive either at T1/T2/T3. One has to exit the secure area, get on the train. During the late evening, the train connected to all terminals (ATS) runs a lot less frequent than during the day time, I had once waited 15 min around 11pm. Other than OZ departure, there are only a few mexico departures around that time in T5, they are only going to open one security lane, that line could be very long once past 11pm.