Review of Korean Air flight from San Francisco to Seoul in Business

Background

This series covers a recent trip to China. Needing to be in the Beijing area, there are limited options from SFO. CA/UA both operate direct flights and I would have picked CA, but they unfortunately do not operate daily service and Sundays are one of the days they don’t operate. Preferring a day-time departure (eliminates CI/BR/OZ/NH), one-stop options are restricted to CX/JL/KE. The best compromise of cost/time was therefore KE with a SFO-ICN-PEK routing, which leaves 3h later than the UA direct flight and is about half the price, which are both big advantages.

Booking through KE and DL were the same price; however, since it was ~30% cheaper to buy the two legs separately I decided to book the SFO-ICN leg through DL to get some needed MQDs and then the ICN-PEK leg through KE since it cannot be purchased through DL. While split ticketing is not ideal, with a 2.5h layover in ICN, this is low risk even if luggage could not be through checked.

Routing

Pre-Flight

Doing on-line check-in the night before the flight, the cabin was looking very full and would go out at 100% in J showing the need for additional metal on this route (KE and OZ both used to operate 2x daily, which is now decreased to just 1x daily each). I had been able to secure a window seat in the mini-cabin at the time of booking.

The night before departure, I had seen our inbound aircraft's departure was delayed so was not surprised to receive the following e-mail the next morning that the departure time had been pushed back 35 minutes.

With the delay, I pushed back departure from the house 30 minutes and arrived to SFO at 11:30.

The KE counters are in Aisle 9. Approaching the counter, I was immediately helped. I explained the two PNRs and the agent quickly merged them and checked my bag through to PEK, handed me both boarding passes, and explained how to access the AF Lounge.

It was into the empty PreCheck line. Unfortunately, the BR and KE crews both arrived right behind me so they were all waived through first at which point several CLEAR passengers had queued so it would take 10 minutes to clear security.

The FIDS today.

Since we would be departing from A2, the first order of business was to see our plane.

Having just arrived 20 minutes earlier, she was already getting catered for our flight as the final cargo was being unloaded. There are only a couple of B77Ws repainted to date, we would not get one today.

Air France Lounge

After checking out our plane, it was back to the security area to access the lounges.

I'm glad that KE terminated their VS contract and now sends their passengers to the AF Lounge, which used to be reserved only for AF/KL passengers during this time period.

The AF Lounge is on the main level and up a couple stairs. Entering, I was approached by the agent who welcomed me and took my invitation card before showing me into the lounge.

Having only been to the lounge at night with BR, I was surprised at how crowded it was inside and I could only find one set of two seats free in the back near the bar. With KE, AF, and KL departures imminent, the space was at capacity.

I didn't linger too long since there were plenty of people at the buffet, but the alcohol offering is up to AF standards.

A glass of the Lanson Le Rose Brut with a beet salad.

An espresso before heading to the gate.

Spotting

With 15 minutes to boarding, I did a quick loop of the concourse to see what was around.

AV A320neo to SAL.

CX A359 to HKG.

BR B77W to TPE.

KL B78X and TK A359.

Boarding

I went down to the boarding area ~5 minutes before the indicated time.

Our B77W today is HL8042, delivered in 2016 and has the least dense 277-seat configuration consisting of F8 (Kosmos Suites 2.0 in 1-2-1), C42 (Prestige Suites in 2-2-2), and Y227 (3-3-3).

Boarding was orderly and started on time. Entering through 1L, I was greeted by several FAs and shown through the galley.

Passing through the F cabin.

Reaching Row 7, which is the single row of J behind the F cabin in front of 2L/2R. It is a very quiet cabin since there are lavatories directly behind this row near the galleys, so you will really only see the 2 other passengers on this side of the plane and the only traffic in the aisle is the FAs passing between cabins.

Seat Tour

My seat for this flight. The Prestige Suites are B/E Aerospace Apex Suites, which are quite rare only found on JL and WY as well.

The seat is listed as only 21" wide, but feels wider with additional elbow space on both sides. Pre-placed on the seat are the new Frette bedding and Graff amenity kits rolled out this summer.

The Apex suites on the B77Ws are slightly wider than that found on B789/A330s mainly due to the wider side console, where a water bottle was pre-placed.

The basic seat controls. The privacy divider was already raised on boarding and would remain up gate-to-gate. There were no requests from the crew to lower it during take-off or landing.

The IFE remote is on the side of the console and needs to be used to control the IFE given its distance from the seat.

The only storage around the seat is a small compartment under the arm rest, which can be difficult to access when seated since it is behind you. Pre-placed in there were the menu, slippers, and noise-cancelling headphones.

Inside of this compartment is also located the headphone jack and USB-A port.

Aisle access in the bulkhead is quite wide and there is a small side table area for additional storage although placing my laptop there during meals was slightly impractical since the crew needed to reach over it to serve me and used it to temporarily store items.

Literature compartment is located near the suite entrance.

It contained the usual suspects: duty free catalog, Morning Calm, airsickness bag, and safety card.

The seats feature older 18" screens, which are on the small side considering the seat has a 75" pitch. It is touch screen, but given the distance, the remote is essentially required for navigation. There is an ottoman below the screen with space for your shoes, but all bags were required to be in the overhead bins.

Pre-Departure

After settling in, the FA serving our cabin came by to introduce herself and offered a selection of juices and water. I took the guava juice that was served with a snack mix. The purser stopped by as well welcoming me on board and introducing herself.

The new glassware and tableware is all in collaboration with Armani/Casa.

The view from the window as we prepare for departure. We will wait for the AI B772 to leave first.

The AI safety video played, through it has been updated with the new branding in places.

We pushed back at 13:22 offering a glimpse of the PD E195-E2 ready to leave for YYZ behind us.

The glorious sound of the GE90's start-up cycle soon followed

Starting our taxi out past the KL B78X.

Then the sister AF B77W.

Making the long taxi out to 28L on a nice sunny day in the Bay.

The AI B772 departing on its long journey to DEL.

View of the cabin as we prepare for take-off.

Take-Off from SFO

We align onto 28L and wait for our turn with the multiple runway choreography of a UA B737-MAX9 landing on 28R while a DL B767-300 departs on 1R.

We spool up and barrel down the runway at 13:39 lifting up over the airport.

Quickly up and over the still retreating marine layer as we leave the mainland and start our trek across the Pacific.

First Meal Service

The newly re-branded menus featuring the updated catering that KE has been rolling out. We will be getting two meals on this flight, each with 3 options for main. The drinks menu is above average with a good offering of wines and spirits, but not up to Taipei-based carrier standards.

The first meal service started with the distribution of hot towels.

The linens are laid.

The tray table can pivot sideways allowing aisle access during the meal.

The service starts with the distribution of the amuse bouche and drinks. I opted to try the Charles Mignon Comte de Marne, a quite drinkable champagne, to accompany the Sesame Crusted Scallop.

The table was cleared and then a tray was provided with the appetizer and an offering of more drinks. Breads were then offered from a basket.

French butter and a matchbox with salt/pepper packets.

The new cutlery.

The appetizer was a visually appealing Red Beet Marinated Balik Salmon.

The Cream of Green Pea Watercress soup was then delivered, which is only offered with the Western meals since Korean meals would get their own soup.

After plates were cleared, the main was then delivered. I opted for the Horseradish Crusted Salmon, which didn't look visually appealing. Despite a soggy crust, it was well seasoned and the fish was still moist and flakey.

Drinks were always topped up and the service was very attentive despite being in the more secluded smaller cabin.

The tray was cleared and the table was reset for a cheese plate.

Then the desserts arrived with the choice of ice cream (vanilla or chocolate) served with a small trio of desserts.

The meal service concluded 1h45m into the flight, which was well balanced for a west-bound daytime flight. The crew notified us that the 2nd meal would be started 2h15m before arrival giving ~7.5h of sleep time between meals.

In-Flight Entertainment

The IFE screen is decent resolution and the content is above average with an easy to navigate interface. The B77Ws have front cameras in addition to the Voyager 3D moving map.

The B77Ws are fitted with Wi-Fi. Messaging for $6 is expensive, but full flight plan for $21 is reasonable although complimentary Wi-Fi should be offered to premium cabins. I didn't use these services so can't comment on connection reliability/speed.

Amenities

The new amenity kit is from Graff and contains a good selection of items.

The new bedding is in collaboration with Frette with KE finally introducing mattress pads.

The mattress pad is very good quality and extends the full length of the seat.

A very cozy and non-restrictive bed. Korean has done very good to upgrade its product, but I still do not like their fleece/microfiber blankets. A duvet would have been the smarter move.

Since my seat mate left for the bathroom, here is the visual arrangement of seats.

The advantage of Apex seats is that there are no foot constrictions and the 73" long bed, while not the longest, was still comfortable and provided excellent privacy.

The lavatories are large, well stocked (albeit with the older Atelier Cologne products), and were clean throughout the flight.

Mid-Flight Snack

After a decent nap, I woke up past the halfway point and ordered a snack.

The ramen was delivered alongside some side dishes and a cup of ginseng tea.

The cabin mid-flight.

Second Meal Service

The cabin lights started to cycle back on ~2.5h to arrival as we were approaching the eastern coast of Honshu.

Service started with hot towels.

Linens were laid and juices were offered from a tray.

Meal service started with the delivery of a tray and the offering of drinks.

Side dishes consisting of kimchi, mushrooms, and spinach.

What was described on the menu as a Mixed Green Salad with Caesar Dressing. A bold choice by KE including anchovies, but a very good and substantive dish.

Opting for the Korean dish, metal chopsticks were included this time.

After clearing my salad bowl, the main dish was brought out along with refills. I opted for the Tteok-Galbi which is served with a side of rice and soybean soup.

The meal concluded with a fruit plate and the offering of tea or coffee.

Scenic Tour of Japan and Korea

Flying along the Tone River near Kamisu/Kashima as we enter a cloud covered Chiba-ken, which means NRT would be on the other side of the plane.

Some breaks in the clouds as we reach Nagano-ken with Saku visible nestled into a valley.

We then reach Matsumoto in the next valley, maybe you can squint and see the castle complex.

Gongenike, a crater lake along the Gifu-ken/Nagano-ken border.

Flying over Fukui-shi in Fukui-ken, as we leave Honshu.

Flying over Dogojima. OKI is visible on the bottom of the island providing air connection to Izumo and Itami.

We entered a cloudy Korea over Pohang as we started our descent into Incheon and the crew cleared the cabin. The purser came by to talk to me again asking if I flew often and how the flight was compared to BR noticing my pajama bag.

Flying over Chungju with the Jungwon Air Base visible across the river.

Flying over Icheon.

As we were approaching the outskirts of greater Seoul, a KE A333 could be seen passing under us enroute to GMP.

We turn west over Suwon.

Arrival into Incheon

The infamous Orange Dunes Golf Club nestled amongst heavy industry.

Incheon Bridge.

The area around the airport must be very shallow with low tide exposing a huge area of silt.

Clearing the sea wall.

We touched down at 17:27 on runway 33L, almost erasing our delay departing SFO.

No shortage of Queens in the cargo area.

Plenty of remote stand usage despite the new terminal.

We turn into T2 with a long row of KE/DL tails.

AC B789 arriving from YVR.

LJ B737-MAX8 taxing out.

We take stand next to a KE B739.

Deplaning was quick through 1L with one last look at HL8042 before starting the long walk.

Continuing the long walk to transfer security, which at least provides large windows with expansive views of the tarmac.

Eventually reaching the transfer security zone.

We'll pause this series here as I start my layover in Incheon, thanks for stopping by!

Flight Information

Korean Air, KE24
Equipment: Boeing B777-300ER [HL8042, delivered June 2016]
Departure: 12:50 (ATD: 13:39)
Arrival: 17:20 (ATA: 17:27)
Flight time: 11:48