A380 Prestige Class
 

A couple questions on the A380 Prestige class I couldn't glean from the KA site or just want confirmation on.

1. Is the Prestige sleeper fully flat?

KA and Seatguru show it as fully flat but I read a review of the JFK-ICN route that said it was 178 deg.

2. What headphones are provided?

I couldn't locate this anywhere on KAs site and just need to know what to bring or not.

Thanks very much.

The seats are probably exactly 178 degrees, but for all intent they are flat. They are a little uneven as you lay across the various sections of the seat. I thought a nice touch would be one of those thin high density poly mattress for outdoor camping on a hike would sure be a nice touch.... you would probably slide all over the place though. You can also adjust to essentially sleep in the older kind of "z" sitting position that Delta still has on it's 763's for those that like that. The biggest issue for me was length and I'm only 6'1", but I just laid down the footrest and dangled my feet over the end... if you were longer you'd have to assume a fetal curl on your side... but heh the seats are great and the BE cabin on the 380 is real quiet particular more so in the front of the plane.... the rear gets noticeably noiser.

As for headphones... if you have noise canceling bring your own (that may be seem to contradict my above statement about being quiet). Not sure what kind they were, but not high quaility... not ear buds, but over the head fixed type. Hope this helps. Flew abut 5 wks ago and will be on again in a few days.

Check www.whendoublewidesfly.com or message him. He is a member on FT. Has an extensive review on this.

They're flat bed seats, same as on the 77Ws and some 772s. When the plane is on the ground, these seats tend to go not quite parallel to the ground, because of the angle of the plane in flight. (I've seen DL's 764 seat in a demo at LHR, and it definitely doesn't look flat on the ground, but no one complains about any angle in them in air.) In terms of length, probably best to aim for a bulkhead seat if you can get it, as then you're not tucking in under a seat in front of you. I'm a side sleeper who tends to curl up a bit, so I found the Prestige Sleeper seats great.

KE's headsets are an embarrassment for a country that produces a lot of electronic gadgets. They are NOT noise cancelling and seemed so cheap that I didn't even bother trying them. Even SV provides better headphones (noise cancelling, but some off brand) in J. Definitely bring your own. I don't recall if there's a need for a two-prong adapter or not, so probably a good idea to have one with.

Thanks for all the replys. I suppose I'll bring headphones and won't worry too much about the seat. I don't care for the 2-2-2 configuration on the A380. I'd prefer the herringbone or 1-2-1 on others. I'll just try for an empty seat next to me so I don't have to crawl over someone to get out.

I flew LAX-ICN-LAX in January, 380 over and 777 return. I found the 380 seat to be horizontally flat while the 777 flat was ever so slightly non-horizontal - but enough to notice. (But not so much as the wedgie-beds KE has on the 747's.)

The 380 is very quiet, but I still appreciated my Bose QC headphones.


Good luck with that!

Which 777? The 77Ws (777-300ER) have the Prestige Sleeper seats, while the 777-200ERs are a split fleet, with some having Prestige Plus and others Prestige Sleeper. It looks like LAX gets the Prestige Plus seats on certain flights.

It was the Prestige Sleeper, but it was not 180 degrees flat. It was very nearly 180 degrees, so a small amount of quibbling. Trust me, I know the vast difference between it and those horrid slanted flat seats.

I'm a side sleeper, so the slanted seats in a bulkhead aren't awful for me, at least KE's aren't. I don't sleep as well on them as the Prestige Sleepers, but they work OK. MH and SV have less padding and I felt like I was sliding down all night on their slanted seats, however.

What Row Is The Best To Sit In?
 

I will be travelling Prestige next month from JFK to ICN. From the experience of those who have flown the A380, what are the ideal row #'s to sit in? Any advice is much appreciated.

It really depends on what is 'ideal' to you. There are a lot of factors to consider. The front cabin is the smallest and feels closest to the private jet-feel they talk about. However, it can get a good deal of foot-traffic as the flight attendants. The second cabin is the biggest and there most spacious. The rear cabin is pretty small too and feels very isolated, however, it can get a decent amount of foot traffic from people venturing back to the bar or wanting to go downstairs to the duty-free shop. It's mixed on how much traffic as some people on here say the bar was almost empty their whole flight, while my two flights had the bar pretty packed. Also, to consider where you're sitting is how quickly you want to deplane. While there never is a full prestige class, it's still a factor on how tight of a connection you have.

Regarding seat locations, thats another thing. I flew with my wife and we chose to take a window/aisle (12A&B) and loved it. It was a bit more cozy for the two of us having our own area. The windows also have two very large bins to use and of course there is always the fact that there is the window there and can get natural light in. I'd recommend those if you're traveling with someone. I'm not a fan but some people swear by the middle two seats because you have aisle access and don't have to climb over anyone. Not bad if you're traveling by yourself but again you're stuck in the middle of the plane.

Hopefully those factors helped make your decision a bit easier. After all that, my recommendation is the same seats we sat in both trips, 12A&B. Loved the window/aisle, loved the space of the middle cabin and loved being halfway between the serve-yourself-lounge and the Celestial Bar.

try seatguru.com

I just picked a window in the rear cabin for my upcoming KE 17/18 flights. I assumed that the back cabin would be less crowded than the front cabin. The middle one being spacious makes sense, but I wanted a window and didn't want a view of the wing. I've heard that the rear cabin, being behind the engines, might be a but noisier, but we'll see. The only thing that I'm worried about at all is the possibility that they'd run out of meal selections before getting to me. Would hate that.

I'm on tonight's flight out of New York in the front cabin bulkhead. I want to check there is no one next to me as I don't want to crawl over someone asleep. If so I may move if the flight allows.

My first A380 flight.

Wife and I just got off the ICN-LAX flight today. We were in the front section each way on row 8. A&B on trip over E&F on this trip back. For a couple loved the window seat with it's side storage bins... didn't appear that most people even aware what to do with them... I used them for change of clothes, electronics, etc. I did this once on getting on board and at the end of the flight, so didn't have to get into the upper bin except for those two times....loved them. Walked to rear and the engine roar is noticeably higher in the rear. The whole BE section was around 1/2 full going and back. Again I'm 6'1" and can't stretch out on the flat position, but a on my side position worked with a little curl... and did catch a few winks in the tight lying on my back position too, but anyone taller and wanting to lay on their back I would try one of the bulkhead seats, but not absolutely sure on that ... just my perception.

Someone mentioned foot traffic in the forward section, but I just didn't particular notice that. The access door for Prestige at LAX and ICN is on the left side just behind section one (row 10). There are two or three restrooms adjacent to forward section and the forward most bathroom is very spacious and great for changing clothes, shaving, etc. From out side is sort of looks like a cubby hole, but is great.

I'm not too satisfied that someone else is in 100% control of the heating & cooling and I thought generally it was on the warm side for sleeping, I sort of just kicked my blanket to the floor along with my socks in order to get temperature comfortable. But there is just not anything you can do about that, so plan accordingly with your preferences in mind.

Right before or just after takeoff they take your order for both dinner and breakfast meals. Didn't ever feel or notice that someone "ran out". They seem to generally provide two meals types on asian, one western and "bit Map".. I was even able to order medium rare and got it.

The entertainment console is the same I've had on every KAL flight BE or Economy... at least that is my perception and is fine with reasonable options. Both flights were reasonably smooth with LAX-ICN taking over 13 hrs and ICN-LAX was suppose to be 9 1/2 hrs, but end up taking 10 (we were doing 745 mph land speed for some time) that big guy can really get up and go with a good tale wind.

By the way the processing and transit to another LAX flight was fairly smooth particularly for US passports... they have improved that system and Priority luggage has meaning with KAL. We transited at ICN going over, but did a layover coming back. I thought they have a rather crummy transit point (bottleneck) at ICN where you tranfer from incoming back to outgoing... it was a mad house and way, way undersized for an airport of that size... someone it seems to me just didn't think that through very well, particularly with the large loads of 380's, 747, and other jumbo jets that come through that airport... otherwise ICN is outstanding and the Prestige lounge is great... can't believe "skyteam" let's Delta get away with the lounge at LAX when comparing ICN or Narita for that matter or Hanoi, BKK and SIN are all quite nice as well I'm sure many in Asia are... are all the nice lounges in Asia????

Well enough... hope this helps... wanted to do this while still fresh...feel free to ask.