I was pretty excited for this flight. It’s not everyday I get to fly on an A380. It’s a bit sad that Asiana will be ending First Class service all together later in 2019. The First Class lounge was small but quiet which is always a plus these days.
Tag: ICN
Review: KE ICN-SGN First Class
We left the lounge 30 minutes before boarding and headed to the gate. Terminal 2 is really something. Very bright and airy with tall ceilings.
Review: KE First Lounge ICN
Korean Airlines moved to the new terminal 2 which looks amazing. In addition to the new terminal there is a new first class lounge. I’ve been to the old lounge and wasn’t too impressed so my expectations weren’t to high. I followed signs to the lounge.
Review: KE SFO-ICN First Class
This was my second time flying Korean Airlines first class and I was pretty excited. I booked this flight by transferring Chase Ultimate Rewards to Korean Airlines before Chase devalued the program. We checked in using the first class line which had no wait.
Review: KE ICN-SFO First
Date: Friday June 30
Flight: 025
Aircraft: B777-300ER
Origin: ICN
Destination: SFO
Seat: 1J First
Scheduled Push Back: 8:00 PM
Actual Push Back: 9:13 PM
I deplaned my KE MNL-ICN flight and was hoping for some type of ground experience including an escort through immigration and to the First Class Lounge as the flight was running late. After all, this was a first class to first class connection. However, that wasn’t in the cards for me today.
Review: KE ICN First Lounge
After doing some searching and asking people who didn’t understand English, I found the Korean Airlines First Class Lounge. I walked in and presented my boarding pass to the desk agent. She proceeded to cross out the boarding and departure time and note there was a delay. The lobby has a model 747 which was cool.
Review: KE MNL-ICN First
Date: Friday July 1
Flight: 622
Aircraft: B777-300
Origin: MNL
Destination: ICN
Seat: 1E First
Scheduled Push Back: 12:20 PM
Actual Push Back: 12:26 PM
When I booked this return home from Manila I wasn’t expecting an intra-Asia leg to be marketed as “first class”. In my past experiences many airlines have business class as the highest level of service on these routes. On top of that my experiences with ANA have been business with angled lie-flat seating as well. While intra-Asia first class doesn’t provide all the bells and whistles, it’s still a nice experience.
Review: OZ ICN-MNL Business
Date: Friday June 30
Flight: 703
Aircraft: A350-900
Origin: ICN
Destination: MNL
Seat: 6A Business
Scheduled Push Back: 7:50 PM
Actual Push Back: 8:20 PM
As soon as I landed from SFO I had a text that my flight was delayed. At least Asiana is proactive. I headed to the gate a bit early since the Asiana business class lounge, which is open to priority pass, was packed.
Review: OZ ICN Business Lounge
After my underwhelming lounge experience in the SFO China Airlines Lounge I wasn’t expecting much in ICN. I arrived, went through transfer security, and proceeded to the lounge. The lounge was P A C K E D. I had a hunch why and verified Asiana (and Korean Airlines) open their business class lounges to priority pass. These days everybody and their mothers (literally my mother has a priority pass membership) has access. Asiana should really focus on providing a better ground experience for their business class customers.
Review: OZ SFO-ICN Business
Date: Thursday June 29
Flight: 211
Aircraft: B777
Origin: SFO
Destination: ICN
Seat: 4K Business
Scheduled Push Back: 12:40 PM
Actual Push Back: 12:47 PM
I arrived at the gate around 11:50 AM as the lounge attendant instructed me I would need to get a “real” paper boarding pass. To bypass lines at airport check in, I did the mobile check in and printed my boarding pass. I provided the gate agent with my mobile check in boarding pass and passport. She then looked at a separate piece of paper and crossed my name out. This looked more serious than re-printing a boarding pass I thought. She confirmed my final destination was Manila and asked about my return flight. I mentioned I would be returning Friday July 7 on a different airline. She seemed to get more direct and informed me that she must see my return otherwise I wouldn’t be allowed to board. I had to step away to lookup my Korean Airlines reservation. I returned and showed my return reservation and was given my boarding passes.
