You know the drill. Im back but this time it’s Korean Air, so you’d expect a touch of class. Too bad you are on board.
…Dressed like someone who lost a bet with life.
Everyone looks like they have jobs and skincare routines. I look like a plot twist.
I have to go edit my e ticket.
I try to explain the typo. She looks at me like I’m explaining cryptocurrency to her grandma.
Agent: “Your name doesn’t match.”
Me: “Neither does my life plan, yet here we are.”
sigh…
This , folks , is why you should never come late to catch your flight at Gimpo Airport. The queue is always insane .
The staff doesnt even flinch anymore. I’m a regular. Like a recurring rash. Security makes me do the pose arms up, dignity down obviously. My belt beeps. Not because of metal, but because my waistline is offensive to machinery.
TSA asks if I’m carrying any liquids. I say “just tears”…
The agent says “enjoy your flight” but I hear “good luck surviving yourself”. They pat me down like they’re trying to find my dignity. Didn’t find it.
I am moving my corpse somewhere I could have some rest
I sit like a crispy sock: useless and slightly offensive.
I scan my ticket with that stupid hopeful pause. Like maybe this time my childhood trauma will also disappear..
The scanner beeps. Red light. Of course. My life’s been flashing red since 2019.
Brand new A321neo. I cant wait to see whats inside.
The business class looks great . You cant expect any better on this short flight.
I go where I belong : economy
This business class looks really good and I cant move on.
It would fit very well in the NA routes
Im going to my seat. The cabin looks great overall. It fulfills me of joy
IFE for everyone , with large screens.
This was unthinkable 10 years ago
I go find my seat in the toilets. A crew member is showing my real seat . I m use to think I belong next to the trashcan in the bathroom…
I walk down the aisle like it’s a catwalk for people with bad posture and unresolved trauma.
The legroom is excellent. This is comparable to what we can find on long haul.
Anyway the seats look clean. I don’t.
We have usb a and c and board.
I even have 2 windows. Now I will remember to always book this seat (not the one in the bathroom)
The movie selection on this IFE is GREAT.
Its possible to connect your own device with the bluetooth
Pilot says “smooth flight ahead.” I laugh. Nothing in my life has ever been smooth.
moodlighting enabled
Cabin lights dim. Mood: depression.
I open my phone. No signal. No messages. Just a gallery of mistakes and screenshots of texts I never sent.
We take off The sky looks peaceful. I wonder how that feels.
I see clouds and think, “Wow, those are fluffier than any relationship I’ve had.”
“Maybe I should change.”
Immediately followed by: “lol no.”
“Should I move back to Seoul?”
Followed by: “Move back to therapy first.”
“Maybe that girl from the app will text me back.”
Plane hits a light bump. Universe says no.
I look out the window like I’m in a film. Except I’m the character that gets cut in editing.
The guy ahead of me opens his laptop to work. I open my gallery to revisit pain.
Flight attendant wheels out the cart. I sit up like a neglected plant sensing water.
I ask for a tomato juice. She gives me the orange juicf. I say thank you anyway. That’s who I am now.
I dont deserve more either way
Captain says “we’re starting our descent,” like that’s news.
Bro I’ve been emotionally descending since boarding group D.
Everyone else looks excited. I look like I just got dumped by the sky.
We can se Geoje Island
Everyone around me seems energized. They’re going home, or to a meeting, or to someone who loves them. I’m landing into a Sunday of laundry, avoidance, and guilt snacking.
The flight attendant comes by and tells me to stow my tray table. I want to tell her to stow my regrets instead
The size of our plane is huge!
That reminds there are only a few meters between Changwon and Busan.
I glance out the window. It’s Busan. It’s blue. It’s peaceful. It deserves better than my presence.
I tell myself I’ll work on my life starting right after this landing. I lie. We both know I’ll go straight to the convenience store and panic-buy triangle kimbap I won’t even eat.
We land and I clap internally. Not for the pilot. For myself. For surviving another day without texting my ex or applying to therapy.
747 KE under maintenance. I need that too
I step into the jet bridge like I’m stepping back into the plot of a sad, slow indie film.
Back in Busan. Back to pretending I have plans.
Another A321! I feel like this is an even better A321 than the last one ✈️
Very nice report as always and a fancy change or pace on Korean Air.
It's South Korea, so for sure a skincare routine at the very least 😄
It is a beautiful cabin! Usually KE cabins are a bit bland...well not nearly as sad and beige as OZ, but boring nonetheless. I'm enjoying their new experiment with colour. At least for the interiors...I still don't know how I feel about the new simpler livery--I guess I'm at least happy they didn't go Eurowhite 🤷
Oh joy of joys...this is my new criteria for a good cabin now haha
I suffer from Stage 4 battery anxiety. I become a raging Karen below 75% 😜
Sorry you were unsuccessful in correctly manifesting a tomato juice. The Universe just said No
I only like tomato juice if it's part of a Bloody Mary personally
Service is very simple as one would expect on such a short flight. Very similar to domestic Japanese flights, though maybe more choice of drinks (if you can actually get what you ask for). If KE's cabins weren't so much nicer than the LCCs on this route, along with more inclusive fares I imagine, there may not be so much reason to fly a full-service carrier vs an LCC. But then again that's pretty much become the norm everywhere on short-haul.
Beautiful scenery on approach to Busan. I can understand why it's such a popular destination
Thanks for sharing!
You’ve just written the Citizen Kane of comments layered, insightful, and with just the right amount of “I’ve-seen-things-at-35,000-feet” trauma energy. Respect.
Also yes, another A321. I’m basically collecting them like Pokémon at this point. Gotta catch all 321 of them.
But you’re right, this KE bird was definitely sexier than my previous ride like she moisturizes and answers emails on time.
The kind of cabin that makes you feel like you’re the problem for not being promoted yet.
And YES to the USB-A+C revelation. Honestly, if I see just a USB-A port now, I feel personally victimized.
Stage 4 battery anxiety? lol same. I’m 68% and already checking for power outlets like I’m defusing a bomb.
(Also I laughed too hard at the “raging Karen” line. You get me.)
As for the tomato juice… listen, I manifested hard. I stared into the soul of the flight attendant with the spiritual intensity of a monk, and she still handed me orange juice with the blankness of a low blood sugar moment.
Clearly the Universe was like, “You get Vitamin C and you’ll be grateful, peasant.”
Totally agree with your take on the cabin aesthetics too. KE finally dipped their toes in something other than diplomatic beige, and honestly? I’m into it. As for the livery, yeah it’s giving… safe rebrand. At least they didn’t commit full Lufthansa erasure.
And you nailed it on the short-haul logic. I keep thinking, “Why not fly a LCC and suffer like a real man?” But then I see mood lighting and free water and I fold like a cheap carry-on.
Anyway, thanks for the killer comment. You’re the kind of reader that makes writing this nonsense feel like less of a cry for help and more of an art form.
Let’s form a club. First rule: USB-C or bust.
Second rule: Bloody Marys only at cruising altitude.
Third rule: If there’s no tomato juice, we riot.
Thanks for sharing this FR on KE’s A321, about as good as it gets for domestic hop.
I’ve always found Korean security to be less intrusive than mainland China where pat downs are an obligatory airport experience.
It’s what all the cool kids are doing these days (JX, CI). I think KE did execute slightly better in Y than CI.
Great aerials on arrival, everything looks better from a distance.