Korean Air Business Class Review

The Airline: Korean Air

The Flight: KE 902 Paris to Seoul

The Equipment: Boeing 747-400 (seats 19A & 19B)

Time & Date: 20:35 on 15/07/10

Overview:

The Europe-Asia route is one of the most competitive in the airline industry, with more than several world class players battling for the lucrative traffic. Korean Air has been perhaps one of the more low-key operators as they spend less on advertising and marketing than some of their more well-known counterparts. We travelled Sydney-Seoul with an overnight, Seoul-Istanbul and then Paris-Seoul and Seoul-Sydney, but for the purpose of this review we’ll take a look at one of the legs which features their new fully flat bed set up which the airline is touting as one of its best new features.

Check In:

Paris Charles De Gaulle has a reputation as being one of the worst airports for travellers in   Europe, mainly because of the sheer number of people moving through it each day. Security check points are often set up randomly throughout the airport and this can slow the whole check in process down. We went through one security point before arriving at Korean Air’s check-in counter which is in Zone 8 of Terminal 2E and Air France were their handling agents. With a confirmed business class ticket, check in was quick and painless, and the economy line was quite long, but seemed to be moving along adequately. Korean Air also use the Air France Salon as the business class lounge, which is fairly new and is a good size. Food selection is quite limited with mostly snacks like chips, nuts and tiny sandwiches, some soft drinks but a fairly decent wine selection. Showers are available and  there were Mac computers available for those who don’t travel with a laptop. The Air France Salon is nowhere near as good as the Korean Air Lounge in Incheon, but then very few lounges can match this one.   

The Service:

The service on board cannot be faulted and clearly Korean Air are trying hard to set themselves up as a serious option for the Asia-Europe market. The business class service is among the best you'll enjoy. I've travelled Seoul to Sydney in economy and found the same thing. The crew are totally efficient, friendly if a little formal and have endless patience.

Food and Wine:

Traditional Korean dishes like Bibimbap, which is a kind of pork mince and vegetable meal, are offered along with French-inspired offerings and Chinese and Japanese options with good wines from France, Spain and Australia. Lunch featured an appetizer of shrimp salad or pumpkin soup; mains included a Korean dish of minced chicken, vegetables with sesame oil and korean hot pepper paste, or a sauteed chicken with wild mushroom sauce served with pasta and vegetables. The first class chef prepared all the meals which were also available at any time during the flight, along with an on-demand snack menu of soups and sandwiches.

The Seat & Entertainment:

The seats in business have a 60” pitch, and this is a godsend on a 14 hour flight from Europe to Asia. This flight featured the Prestige Plus Sleeper Seat which is a 180 degree fully flat bed set up with a shell design, which means it is possible to sleep as though you are in  a bed, with minimal noise interruptions. The service also features a 15.4” TV Monitor with a good selection of international movies and television programs through an Avod entertainment system with videos and television programs on demand - there were more than 50 movies, 50 documentaries and TV shows and 300 music albums. There’s also a decent partition between seats for privacy, loads of storage compartments, a reading lamp, and electronic seat control.

This was a 747-400 and we were in 19A & B in the upstairs bubble which tends to be a bit quieter than the rest of the aircraft as it’s segregated. The first thing you notice is that the whole aircraft has a brand new feel with a calming blue as the predominant feature. It really is quite relaxing and adds to the overall calmness of the service on board. The sky blue ambience is complemented by mood lighting which makes the whole journey a lot more pleasant.

The Verdict:

The redesigned aircraft are a joy to travel in, especially with the Prestige Sleeper Seat. On the Sydney-Seoul legs, we had the Prestige Plus seats which means it’s not fully lie flat - maybe 160-170 degrees. It’s also a shell design but it is a bit harder to get a good night’s sleep. The quality of the aircraft and the on-board service are the main drawcards, and if they can offer good deals on their flights, Korean Air will win and retain some regular traffic from the bigger players.

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