Background:
This series covers a trip to Kaohsiung (高雄) and Kinmen (金門). Refer to Part 1 for a detailed background. As a reminder, the routing for this series is:
Part 1 – LAX-ICN [OZ 203, Boeing B777-200ER, Economy] – Here
Part 2 – ICN-HKG [OZ 721, Airbus A330-300, Economy] – Here
Part 3 – HKG-KHH [CI 948, Airbus A330-300, Economy] – Here
Part 4 – KHH-KNH [B7 8915, Aérospatiale/Alenia ATR 72-600, Economy] – Here
Part 5 – KNH-RMQ [AE 770, Embraer ERJ-190, Economy] – Here
Part 6 – KHH-HKG [AE 891, Boeing B737-800, Economy] – Here
Part 7 – HKG-ICN [OZ 722, Boeing B747-400(Combi), Business] – Here
Part 8 – ICN-LAX [OZ 204, Airbus A380-800, Economy] – You are here
Pre-flight:
This report starts as I leave the OZ Lounge. It was really crowded in there and I had to wait almost 100 minutes for a shower. My flight was showing up as delayed for 30 minutes.
My plane is still undergoing preparations as I arrived at my gate.
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Asiana Airlines, OZ 204
Equipment: Airbus A380-800 [HL7626, delivered July 2014]
Departure: 20:20 (ATD: 21:14)
Arrival: 14:15 (ATA: 13:57)
Flight time: 9:43
Boarding is always organized and orderly at ICN and thorough document checks are done to ensure people are boarding in the right groups. My plane as I head into the jetbridge up to the upper deck.
At the end of the jetbridge is a cart with newspapers. The FAs in the galley quickly greet me and direct me through the galley.
It’s a long walk through the J cabin and I eventually reach the mini cabin at the back of the upper deck.
I settle into my aisle seat, which has excellent seat pitch at 34”. I think the pitch is technically the same as the B772s, but the thinner seats on the A380 make it feel like an inch more. The seats were thinner, but I didn't find them to be uncomfortable on this shorter eastbound sector.
Some looks around the cabin from my seat. It was a little awkward since a FA was standing right behind me greeting passengers.
Big IFE screens featuring the newest system. There are USB and coat hooks on the back of the seat as well.
Power outlets are located between the seats.
Pre-placed on the seats were blanket and pillow.
Slippers and headphones were in the seatback pocket already.
The seatback contents.
Asiana in-flight magazine.
The safety card for this A380.
The IFE is immediately available after the engines fire up on push back. It’s 6400 miles to LAX, which we will easily do in less than 10 hours with the strong tailwinds across the Pacific.
The safety video plays as we taxi out to take off.
Aligning onto the runway.
After leveling off, the service starts. The bi-folding tray table.
The meal options for the dinner service were ssambap and chicken. I don’t really care for ssambap, so I went for the chicken. I took a Cass as well. The meal tray as delivered.
The main was very basic, but I will admit that the chicken was very well cooked and very juicy inside. The potatoes were also not soggy, so OZ executed the components well. It just wasn’t a dish you really yearn for.
The starter was some sort of cole slaw and ham. I didn’t try it since it didn’t look too appetizing.
For some reason I didn’t photograph the dessert, but it was just a lemon cake. The bread and butter, which I also didn't touch.
Coffee and tea service followed the meal.
The newest generation of OZ's IFE, but the content is the same as I saw on the B772.
Looking through the music options, I noticed they have “Let’s Learn Korean” programs.
I went back to the bathroom before going to bed. It was clean and had all of the expected amenities: mouthwash, toothbrushes, combs, skin toner.
Meal service ended here and I quickly fell asleep (or tried to…).
I had a young Korean girl sitting next to me and she got up four times following the meal to use the bathroom during a 60-minute period and I was getting really annoyed since I was already trying to sleep so didn't really want to get up each time to let her in and out. I don't mind being woken up, but 4x is very excessive. Her mom was sitting behind me along with what looked like the grandmother, saw my pissed looked and ended up yelling at the daughter, which was quite amusing. Needless to say, she didn’t get up again until the final descent.
I finally woke up around here when I noticed the same girl was sleeping on my shoulder. The mom noticed when she was returning from the lavatory, came over to apologize to me, and then hit her on the head to wake her up, which was also some comic relief.
As always, the FAs come through the cabin periodically offering water and orange juice from trays.
Meal service started as we approached the Oregon coast, 2 hours prior to arrival.
The options were kimchidon or fish. I went for the Korean option along with a cup of water. My tray as delivered.
The main was excellent and I would have eaten two.
The starter was a potato salad with raisins.
Cake for dessert.
Coffee and tea service was done after the meals were distributed. Refreshing towels and metal cutlery as well.
We arrived into LAX plenty early even with the 1 hour delay departing ICN.
Some plane spotting on the front camera as we taxi to the gate.
SK A330.
AF/LH A380s.
LY B772.
We pull into our gate.
Deplaning is slow since we have to wait for the J cabins to clear out through the single upper deck jetbridge.
Welcome home.
GlobalEntry was empty and with no checked bags, I was quickly following the KE crew out through customs.
I had to wait for Ms. NGO85 to pick me up so some spotting from the curb at TBIT.
AB A332.
TN A343.
KE A380.
And that concludes this series. You can open the spoiler below if you want to see some LAX spotting, otherwise, I bid you farewell.
As a random bonus: some spotting from LAX the other weekend while I had to wait when picking up my sister at the airport.
SV B777-300ER to JED.
BR B777-300ER from TPE.
OZ A380-800 from ICN.
QR B777-200LR to DOH.
SU A330-200 from SVO.
UA B787-900 from PVG.
LH A380-800 to FRA.
NH B777-300ER from NRT.
LX B777-300ER from ZRH.
AA B777-300ER from LHR.
AF A380-800 to CDG.
SQ B777-300ER to ICN.
MU B777-300ER from PVG.
DL B777-200LR from PVG.
CA B777-300ER from PEK.
NZ B777-300ER to LHR.
TN A343-300 to CDG.
TK B777-300ER from IST.
Awesome series once again....
The breakfast really looks appetising ....
I feel sad for the girl beside you :3 for getting scolded every few minutes... :3
The number of Swiss violated you had in this trip is to damn high :3
Awesome FR once again :)
"I feel sad for the girl beside you :3 for getting scolded every few minutes... :3"
- Hitting her on the head was a little harsh, but she was talking back to her mom at the beginning of the flight so it was probably warranted ;)
"Awesome FR once again :)"
- Thanks for stopping by and reading! I've noticed OZ has been pushing their Delhi service a lot recently, lots of fare sales from the US to India.
Very nice TR :)
LAX is 77W heaven! So many carriers operating this type !
Thanks for stopping by!
"LAX is 77W heaven! So many carriers operating this type !"
- LAX has a pretty small international traffic compared to JFK, but there is still a good amount of aircraft movements from TBIT.
Another great FR, thanks for sharing :)
Love that big IFE screens!
All in all it looks like a proper long-haul flight which still leaves room for improvement, isn't it?
Thank you for reading and commenting!
"All in all it looks like a proper long-haul flight which still leaves room for improvement, isn't it?"
- What carrier doesn't still have room to improve? ;) OZ is my FFP so I like flying them, of the *A options ex-LAX, they are probably middle of the road, but ICN transfers are super easy and the OZ flight times are good for my schedule.
Thanks Michael for sharing this flight report! Nice plane spotting at LAX as always!
The Y seat on A388 looks decent with bigger IFE and pitch (best among OZ fleet). IMO the window Y seat on the upper level also seems good, it has extra storing bin due to the aircraft curve.
For catering, the Korean meal looks better than Western one (although chicken one not bad). I found this is same situation with NH where local version is better.
Look forward to next series! (Santa Claus is coming…^^)
Thanks for your comments!
" IMO the window Y seat on the upper level also seems good, it has extra storing bin due to the aircraft curve."
- But some people like window seats in order to lean against the side wall to sleep, it has it's drawbacks too. I head one of those window seats, but then swapped to a middle section aisle seat since the seat next to me was open at OLCI, which was not true on departure ;(
"For catering, the Korean meal looks better than Western one (although chicken one not bad). I found this is same situation with NH where local version is better."
- Probably true for most Asian carriers, they prefer to cater to their passenger base. OZ doesn't seem to have too many Westerners flying them.
Told you to use SQ lounge at ICN.........
Told you to use SQ lounge at ICN.....
Thanks for sharing with us. The mini cabin looks like a good choice. The pitch looks good but the seats very very thin ! Not sure how i would like that. The meals seems tasty but the presentation of the tray could be improved. I am always amazed at KE Flight attendants as they seem to be fresh and their uniforms unwrinkeld after long flights , not all US airline can compare !
Merci Christophe^^
"The pitch looks good but the seats very very thin !" <== Thinner than on the B772s, but I didn't find any discomfort on this flight. The longer westbound flight might be a better judge of how they hold up on long-hauls.
"The meals seems tasty but the presentation of the tray could be improved."
- They do look very "thrown together", presentation is not anywhere close to what the Japanese carriers do. I had my annual survey from OZ and major criticisms were made on their lack of selection and the lack of mid-flight offerings. Not offering anything in the galleys is very questionable on long-haul flights.
Thank for sharing this FR with us!
100 minutes for a shower? Damn...
The cabin looks nice, seat comfort seems to be really good.
The IFE is of latest standard, unfortunately the content is not improved..
Catering looks good on this flight, I guess you opted for some more variation this time.
How many hours of sleep where you able to get on this flight?
Stunning spotting shots at LAX!
Absolutely wonderful spotting bonus from LAX, the lighting was amazing.
Thank you for sharing this fantastic series with us, it has been an enjoyable read.
Have a good one, see you.