Korean Air vs. NW Business Class
Apr 7, 2005, 10:17 am
#1
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Location: MSN
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Korean Air vs. NW Business Class
I'm going to Australia in January. I sit with two tickets booked right now: J-Class on Korean (ORD --> ICN --> SYD and back) and on NW (MSN --> DTW --> NRT --> ICN --> SYD). Obviously the NW itinerary has 2 extra legs but they are short and beat the bus or driving to Chicago, or at least it's a tie.
My question is this: has anyone flown both in J and do they have a strong preference? I went to Australia in '04 on MH in First and loved the service but the route is just too inconvenient for me (it would be MSN --> DTW --> EWR --> Stockholm --> KUL --> SYD) and I am not interested in coughing up 200K miles to sit in the best cabin on the plane. NW and Korean only offer business class, so I will be in the best cabin on the plane.
I've flown NW J-class to Europe (LGW & AMS) and was only mildly impressed. I did fly JFK to NRT and back in J and loved that service. My thoughts now are that I will be more comfortable on NW but get treated better on Korean.
I'm leaning towards NW because the pitch is greater and it's newer. KH is apparently redoing their J-class but it won't start until the end of this year and I highly doubt that the ORD route is going to be the first to be rolled out.
My question is this: has anyone flown both in J and do they have a strong preference? I went to Australia in '04 on MH in First and loved the service but the route is just too inconvenient for me (it would be MSN --> DTW --> EWR --> Stockholm --> KUL --> SYD) and I am not interested in coughing up 200K miles to sit in the best cabin on the plane. NW and Korean only offer business class, so I will be in the best cabin on the plane.
I've flown NW J-class to Europe (LGW & AMS) and was only mildly impressed. I did fly JFK to NRT and back in J and loved that service. My thoughts now are that I will be more comfortable on NW but get treated better on Korean.
I'm leaning towards NW because the pitch is greater and it's newer. KH is apparently redoing their J-class but it won't start until the end of this year and I highly doubt that the ORD route is going to be the first to be rolled out.
Apr 7, 2005, 10:34 am
#2
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Cows in Berkeley?....Moooo!
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With the upgraded meal service on WBC flights coupled with the newer seats and better IFE, make NW the way to go. The FA's on KE were very friendly, but in my opinion the seats and amenities were a step below most other Asian carriers.
Apr 7, 2005, 10:48 am
#3
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Portland, OR
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Posts: 2,602
I've booked a trip on KE for next year. I'm hoping that KE has their new Business Class retrofit complete by then.
Apr 7, 2005, 11:00 am
#4
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I emailed KE and and the response was that their first planes with the new Biz class upgrades will start flying in December with a gradual roll-out planned. So I'm thinking it's unlikely that a January or February trip will have those seats.
Apr 7, 2005, 12:31 pm
#5
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Portland, OR
Programs: DL MM Plat, PC&HH Gold
Posts: 2,602
That's an odd response. I've researched this in other forums and KE has supposedly already started the retrofit. They are advertising the new seats on their web site:
http://www.koreanair.com/local/na/en...ssbusiness.htm
Which implies that they have already started the retrofit process.
http://www.koreanair.com/local/na/en...ssbusiness.htm
Which implies that they have already started the retrofit process.
Apr 7, 2005, 2:13 pm
#6
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: RDU
Posts: 2,264
I too have a trip in J to Australia on KE in January. I've read numerous mixed things about the rollout of their new first and business class products, some of which imply it's already underway, and others which show it not starting until late this year.
Apr 7, 2005, 2:29 pm
#7
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Here's the text of the email from Korean Airlines
Dear Mr. Bergamini:
Thank you for your e-mail.
Please be advised that the upgraded in-flight service will showcase in late 2005 in selected routes of service, the details of which have yet to publish. Please continue to check our web announcements for future updates.
We appreciate your interest in Korean Air.
Sincerely,
US Customer Relations
Korean Air
Thank you for your e-mail.
Please be advised that the upgraded in-flight service will showcase in late 2005 in selected routes of service, the details of which have yet to publish. Please continue to check our web announcements for future updates.
We appreciate your interest in Korean Air.
Sincerely,
US Customer Relations
Korean Air