Continue reading this review to see what the long-haul business class flight was like.

Transfer, Lounge & Boarding at Zurich Airport

After getting off an Austrian Embraer E195 from Vienna, we made our way to Terminal E, which is a satellite building used for flights to countries outside the Schengen Area.

With immigration being quick and still having a few hours to spare before our 10:40 p.m. flight to Johannesburg would board, we headed to the Swiss Senator Lounge, which I could access and guest my dad into as a Star Alliance Gold member.

I spent most of my time in the lounge being outside, on its excellent observation deck. A great plane spotting location and unlimited drinks and food? Yes, please!

We left the lounge just before 10 p.m. and headed to gate E23, which was at the very end of the terminal.

In front of the gate, one of the ground agents checked our documents and stamped our boarding passes. Outside, HB-JMB, a 21 years old A340-300 delivered to Swiss in 2003, was almost ready for the flight.

Boarding started at 10:04 p.m. with first class passengers being invited first, followed by business class passengers and Star Alliance Gold members.

Swiss A340 Business Class Cabin & Seat

At this point, Swiss only has four A340-300s remaining in its fleet.

All of them have been refurbished with the airline’s current long-haul seats also used on its A330-300s and 777-300ERs and can seat 215 passengers in four classes including eight in first, 42 in business, 21 in premium economy, and 144 in economy class.

The aircraft’s business class is split into two cabins – a small cabin with two rows between the single-row first class cabin and the second pair of doors and a larger cabin with eight rows of seats behind the second pair of doors.

Swiss uses staggered seats on the aircraft in an alternating 1-2-1 and 2-2-1 layout.

Because of the layout, not all seats are equal. The single seats on the left side of the aircraft are “throne seats” with a console table on each side and more personal space than the remaining seats. The window seats on the left side of the aircraft do not offer direct aisle access, which is not ideal if you are traveling on your own.

My dad and I chose a pair of seats in the middle of the cabin to both be able to talk to each other and each have access to the aisle. Since the flight was nowhere near full, I moved to an empty “throne seat” to sleep after dinner and to another window seat to enjoy the scenery during landing.

Zooming in on the seat, the seat back in front was home to a decently sized personal entertainment screen with good resolution.

There were also a coat hook and a compartment holding a variety of printed material including a safety card and a duty free catalog next to the screen and a small storage compartment that could hold glasses, a cell phone, or similar items under the screen.

Most seat controls could be found on the console on the side of the seat.

Additional seat controls (lumbar support, cushion firmness, and massage function), as well as an in-flight entertainment controller with a small screen that could be used to watch the map, for example, could be found in a covered compartment right next to the main seat controls.

A hook, which held headphones and a coat hanger upon boarding, a tray table release button, an audio output, a USB port, a universal power outlet, and a bottle holder could be found on the seat’s privacy partition.

Lastly, on the side of the console between the two seats was a storage compartment that could hold shoes or other similarly sized items.

Swiss Long-Haul Business Class Pre-Flight Service and Departure

When we got on board, a rather thin blanket (certainly below average for business class) and an OK pillow were placed on each seat.

Each seat’s bottle holder already had a bottle of water in it as well.

Lastly, Victorinox-branded amenity kits were placed on the console tables. The amenity kit pouches were designed to expand and be reusable as a rather handy packing cube. The content of the amenity kits was rather underwhelming, though. Each kit only included an eye mask, a toothbrush and toothpaste, lip balm, earplugs, and socks.

Just a few minutes after we settled in our seats, we were brought breakfast cards, which were later collected with our breakfast order details on them, and menus. More about the food on board later, though.

The menus were followed by pre-departure drinks. We were offered a choice of champagne or a non-alcoholic elderberry drink. Both my dad and I got the latter and enjoyed it.

Hot towels were offered around the same time as well.

The crew closed the doors just after our 10:40 p.m. scheduled departure time and four minutes behind schedule, at 10:44 p.m., we were pushed back and started making our way to the runway.

At the same time, we were welcomed on board by the chief purser, who mentioned that we would be flying for 10 hours and five minutes before reaching Johannesburg. The captain welcomed us onboard at a later point as well, mentioning that we were expecting an on-time arrival. Between the two welcomes, a safety video was played.

We took off at 10:59 p.m. and started climbing in a typical A340-fashion (i.e., slowly but surely) to our cruising altitude.

Swiss Long-Haul Business Class Dinner

Ten minutes after take-off, the cabin crew was released from their seats and started preparing for dinner service. Another four or five minutes later, the seatbelt signs were switched off.

Being in the middle section, my dad and I were served by different flight attendants. It took 20 minutes or so from the point the seatbelt signs were switched off until the flight attendant working my aisle came to take my drink and starter order. I opted for sparkling water and the latter of the two choices below:

• Steamed fjord trout with white wine sauce and herb infused oil Fennel crust with Rochat pepper
• Roasted cauliflower with mint and saffron labneh

Another 20 minutes or so later, the flight attendant came back with a tablecloth and a glass of sparkling water. The starter itself, which I enjoyed, followed another fifteen minutes later, around 12:15 a.m. It was served together with a small salad, a selection of cheese, and bread from bread basket.

The main followed about half an hour later (I was offered another drink before that so got a glass of Coke Zero).

Options available on board included:

• Beef tenderloin with basil sauce; pesto polenta slice and courgette
• Grilled chicken breast with mustard sauce; Gnocchetti di Zita pasta, peas and leek
• Sauteed sea bream with tomato sauce with olives and capers; pan-fried groncchi and spinach
• Casarecce with pesto cream sauce, broccolini and pistachios

That said, both my dad and I opted to use the meal pre-booking service that Swiss offers and that, in the case of our flight, came with four options on top of the four above:

• Gnocchi puttanesca
• Chicken massaman curry
• Fried seabass
• Sliced veal Zurich style

I opted for the veal, which was very tender and came with flavorful sauce. My dad opted for the fried seabass, i.e., the Japanese meal.

To finish off the meal, we both had the sole dessert option – eclair with raspberries and caramelized pistacchios.

The flight attendant serving my aisle was very excited about it, saying “you have to try the eclair,” and he was most certainly right. I enjoyed it alongside a cup of peppermint tea.

For reference, below is the full drink menu:

Swiss A340 In-Flight Entertainment System

As mentioned earlier, the seat was equipped with a decent screen. A pair of noise-cancelling headphones was available at the seat during boarding as well.

While I did not watch anything on this flight, those that wanted to had the option to choose from over 200 movies and dozens of TV shows.

As usual, there were only a few episodes of a random series for each TV show. That said, at least for some of the shows, there were half a dozen or a dozen episodes rather than the two or three that some airlines provide.

Additionally, there was a selection of audio content including music albums, audiobooks, and podcasts. A good portion of the latter two was, understandably, in German. Eight simple games were available as well.

One thing worth noting is that ads and informational videos were played throughout while taxiing for departure and during take-off and so it was not possible to watch content during that time.

The in-flight entertainment system was also equipped by an in-flight map made by Panasonic. It included everything one would expect including a number of different views, the ability to move around the map freely, zoom in and out, and so on.

I loved that in the children’s menu, the map was accessed through an “Are We There Yet?” button.

Swiss A340 Onboard Wi-Fi

All of the Swiss A340s including the one that we were flying on are equipped with onboard wi-fi.

While I didn’t use it, three plans were available: messaging-only (free), four hours (25 CHF), and full flight (35 CHF). The latter two did not appear to have any bandwidth restrictions (other than the inability to watch content on streaming sites such as Netflix).

At about 30 and 40 dollars for the paid plans, they were on the pricier side. On the other hand, the free plan allowed not only text messaging but also photo sharing through messaging apps, something that many airlines block on their messaging plans.

Sleeping on a Swiss A340 in Business Class

Wanting to be as fresh on our first day in Africa as possible, I moved to a “throne seat” across the aisle from my assigned seat and tried to get some shuteye as soon as I finished dinner just after 1 a.m.

While Swiss does not provide much in terms of bedding (other than the OK pillow and mediocre blanket I mentioned earlier), I was able to partly rectify that by using one blanket instead of a sheet/mattress pad and having an extra pillow. Add to that the fact that I am not picky in terms of surfaces I can sleep on and I slept well for quite a few hours.

That said, I briefly woke up in the middle of the night at around 4 a.m. At that time, we were flying over the middle of Africa, an area I haven’t flown above once in the over 600 flights I took before this one.

I paid a quick visit to the lavatory, which was kept clean and had a number of other amenities in addition to the standard soap including Soeder herbal lotion, face cream, and face spray. I also used the opportunity to check the galley. There, a basket with a fairly decent selection of packaged snacks was available.

Swiss Long-Haul Business Class Breakfast

I truly woke up around 7 a.m. At that time, we were flying somewhere between Angola and Namibia and had about two more hours left to go.

Shortly after that, I was served breakfast. Given that my dad woke up earlier, he was finished with his breakfast by the time my table cloth was set and breakfast served just after 7:30 a.m.

The breakfast card, which I filled out at the beginning of the flight, offered two choices of mains:

• Swiss breakfast (selection of cold cuts and cheese)
• English breakfast (sun-dried tomato quiche with tomato sauce)

I opted for the former with a number of sides including a croissant, fresh fruits, and bircher muesli. For drink, I checked the boxes next to smoothie and water.

The breakfast was quite light but sufficient given the late dinner time. I enjoyed the bircher muesli in particular.

The flight attendant serving my aisle came to pick up the tray just before 8 a.m. and offered me a hot drink. I got peppermint tea, which was brought just a couple of minutes later.

The meal service finished with a Swiss chocolate.

Arrival at Johannesburg Airport

About 40 minutes before landing, the first officer made an announcement mentioning that the weather in Johannesburg was nice, with a temperature of 11 degrees Celsius. Around the same time, a lady that was sitting behind me asked the crew where she could get the cream that was available in the lavatory, which the crew kindly explained.

At 8:30 a.m., hot towels were provided and a couple of minutes after that, the crew was asked to prepare for landing.

While descending, amazing views of Johannesburg, as well as of Rand Airport where a museum with two Boeing 747s is located, could be had.

We landed at 8:56 a.m. and reached our arrival gate 10 minutes ahead of schedule, at 9:00 a.m.

With business class passengers being eligible to use priority immigration and Japanese passport holders not needing visas to enter South Africa, immigration was a breeze and in no time we were meeting with our guide in the arrival lobby to see a bit of Johannesburg before continuing to Sabi Sands the next day.

Swiss A340 Business Class Summary

Overall, I enjoyed the flight – the food was sufficient and, unlike on my Lufthansa flight a few years ago, tasty, the seat was comfortable for both relaxing in and sleeping in, and the crew was professional but friendly.

Especially so since I was able to move to a “throne seat” after dinner.

The post Review: Swiss A340 Business Class from Zurich to Johannesburg appeared first on KN Aviation.

Continue reading this review to see what the short hop to Zurich in business class on Austrian Embraer E195 was like.

Check-in, Lounge & Boarding at Vienna Airport

After driving to Vienna Airport from my parents’ home in Slovakia and dropping the car off at a parking lot near the airport, we found ourselves inside Terminal 3 around 1:45 p.m. We headed straight to Austrian’s relatively spacious and – at the time of our visit – underutilized Senator and Business check-in area, which consisted of a row of check-in counters closest to the security checkpoint and offered access to a dedicated lane.

With no one else in the area, it was our turn right away. Once the kind staff confirmed that we did not need visas to visit South Africa as Japanese passport holders, he tagged our bags through to the final destination and handed us boarding passes for both flights.

With the boarding passes in our hands, we went to the deserted priority security check lane.

While there was no queue and my dad was through security in no time, it took a while for me to get through due to having to undergo a more thorough check (my camera kit triggered that before several of the flights I took on the trip).

Since we still had over two hours until our flight’s scheduled 4:45 p.m. departure time when we got through security, we visited the nothing-to-write-home-about (although I did enjoy the cevapcici offered!) but fine Austrian Senator Lounge.

We left the lounge just before 4 p.m. and headed to gate F08, which was just a couple of minutes away.

Outside, an E195 registered OE-LWH and wearing the Star Alliance livery was being prepared for the flight to Zurich. The 12 years old aircraft was delivered to Lufthansa Cityline in 2011 before being transferred to Austrian in 2016.

Around 4:15 p.m., an announcement was made saying boarding would be delayed by ten to fifteen minutes due to the late arrival of our aircraft. Ten minutes later, an announcement was made delaying that by another ten minutes. Ultimately, boarding started at 4:41 p.m. but we had to wait another five minutes in the boarding bridge until we were let into the aircraft.

In the meantime, the gate agent approached a random passenger asking him to come with her to gate check his bag. When he politely suggested she also ask someone else, she said “Sir, could you come? Otherwise, I have to call my supervisor and offload you.” Given that he was the first person approached and she has not asked if there were any volunteers, I thought that was an unnecessary escalation.

She asked a couple more people who refused/ignored her before someone volunteered.

Austrian E195 Business Class Cabin & Seat

Austrian’s Embraer E195s are equipped with 120 economy class seats in a 2-2 layout. Like on most other European airlines, the first few rows (the exact number being dependent on demand and set using a movable curtain) are used as business class. In the case of our flight, the first four rows were designated as business class.

Unlike some airlines that do not do so anymore, Austrian continues to block the seats next to business class passengers even on the E-Jet (i.e., each business class passenger gets a pair of seats).

While the standard regional jet economy class seats, advertised as having a 29-inch seat pitch, were not the most comfortable seats you can fly in as a business class passenger, they did the job for the one-hour flight.

Each seatback was equipped with a document compartment at the top and a small seat pocket at the bottom with a single-piece tray table between the two.

The passenger service units were equipped with individual air vents.

Austrian Flight 553 Departure

Boarding was completed just before 5 p.m., and soon after, one of the pilots welcomed us on board, mentioning that we would be ready to go in a few minutes. The purser then welcomed us saying “Good Afternoon and Servus,” and mentioned that our flight time would be one hour and five minutes.

We were pushed back nearly 20 minutes behind schedule, at 5:03 p.m., and a couple of minutes later, the flight attendant in charge of the business class cabin handed us packaged wet tissues.

The push back was followed by a short taxi to runway 29, from which we took off at 5:11 p.m.

Austrian Short-Haul Business Class Light Meal

Seven minutes after take-off, the seatbelt signs were switched off and the light meal service started.

Another few minutes later, both my dad and I were served drinks – sparkling water and Coke Zero, respectively. A full can of the latter was provided.

About ten minutes later, just after 5:30 p.m., I was served the meal with the words “Enjoy your snack, sir.” It came on a tray, which included a Greek salad that wasn’t overly voluminous but was more than sufficient for the short flight and a cake. I enjoyed both.

Soon after serving the tray, the friendly but professional flight attendant came back with a bread basket.

Five minutes into the meal, Austrian’s signature “Servus” chocolates were distributed.

Then, just before the seatbelt signs were switched back on, hot drinks were served. I decided to have a cup of peppermint tea.

I had that along with the cake, which the flight attendant mistakenly took to the galley before bringing it back when I asked for it. “Sorry, you told me to take the tray away,” she said when bringing the cake back. Fair enough.

Separately, I also had one more cup of sparkling water.

Austrian E195 In-Flight Entertainment System and Onboard Wi-Fi

The Austrian E195 was not equipped with in-flight entertainment of any form. It was not equipped with onboard wi-fi either.

Arrival at Zurich Airport

The seatbelt signs were switched back on at 5:45 p.m., when I was still enjoying my peppermint tea and cake.

Ten minutes later, the first officer announced that we would be arriving about 10 minutes late, and that it was 23 degrees Celsius with a bit of wind and clouds in Zurich.

At 6:09 p.m., the landing gear was lowered, and two minutes later we landed at Zurich Airport.

We reached our parking spot at 6:18 p.m., 18 minutes behind schedule.

Austrian E195 Business Class Summary

Aside from the slight delay, the Austrian flight from Vienna to Zurich in business class was perfectly fine.

While the seats were regular economy class seats, at least Austrian continues to block seats next to business class passengers on its E-Jets. Similarly, while the meal was nothing to write home about, the salad was perfectly fine for the short, one-hour flight.

The post Review: Austrian E195 Business Class from Vienna to Zurich appeared first on KN Aviation.

Continue reading this review to see what the flight was like.

Check-in, Lounge & Boarding at London Heathrow Airport

With the weather being cloudy, I decided to end my plane spotting session earlier than planned and headed to Heathrow’s Terminal 2 which is used by Eurowings, all Star Alliance members, and a number of other airlines.

I could not check in online so I was not sure if I’d be able to check in early and go airside. Luckily, with Eurowings having multiple flights out of the airport, the counters were open and a friendly agent at the priority desk (which I approached as there was no queue and it was the first one I saw) issued my boarding passes all the way to Vienna.

I then headed to security. Seeing quite a long line at the regular check, I headed to the Star Alliance Gold Track and tried my luck asking if I could use it as a Star Alliance Gold member flying on Eurowings. I am not sure if it’s an official perk or not but luckily, I was let through and so getting airside took me just five minutes.

Airside, I first had some tacos at Big Smoke Taphouse & Kitchen, a restaurant that is part of the Priority Pass network, and then headed to the Plaza Premium Lounge to wait for my departure.

I left the lounge about ten minutes ahead of the scheduled 2:05 p.m. boarding time and headed to gate A24.

Not long after I got to the gate, an announcement explaining the boarding order was made and exactly as scheduled, boarding begun with Star Alliance Gold members and BIZclass passengers were invited first.

Avion Express Malta A320 Cabin & Seat

As mentioned earlier, my flight was operated by Avion Express Malta. The A320 registered 9H-AMU was equipped with 180 economy class seats in a 3-3 layout.

Interestingly, even as a low-cost, BIZclass passengers are guaranteed an empty seat next to them like business class passengers on more or less any other full-fare European airline.

While the seats themselves were alright, the legroom was terrible. It’s also worth noting that the seats did not, for better or worse, recline.

The only positive thing about the cabin was the fact that there were individual air vents.

As you will see later, those came in extremely handy.

Eurowings Flight 2461 Departure

Boarding was completed around 2:30 p.m. and by that time, the aircraft was completely full.

Without the APU and thus air conditioning running for some reason, it was also unhealthily hot. While there were individual air vents, using the safety card as a fan was the real life saver for me, as well as some other passengers throughout the cabin.

Shortly after, the cabin crew closed the aircraft doors and did a manual safety demonstration.

At 2:47 p.m., the air conditioning finally started working.

A minute later (13 minutes behind schedule), we were pushed back, and started taxiing toward runway 27R.

We took off at 3:07 p.m. and as soon as we were in the air, amazing views of dozens and dozens of aircraft parked at Heathrow Terminals 3 and 5 could be had.

Later, we did a left turn, which offered an overview of the entire airport.

Eurowings Buy-on-Board Service

The seatbelt signs were switched off about five minutes after take-off and from there, it took another 20 minutes or so until the buy-on-board service started. There was no free drink or meal service.

The buy-on-board menu offered a variety of individual items as well as sets.

Avion Express Malta A320 In-Flight Entertainment System & Wi-Fi

The Avion Express Malta was not equipped with an in-flight entertainment system or onboard wi-fi.

Arrival at Stuttgart Airport

About 40 minutes into the flight, one of the pilots made an announcement that we started our descent and were expecting to land in approximately half an hour. He also mentioned that it was 16 degrees and partly cloudy in Stuttgart.

Seatbelt signs were switched on at 4:55 p.m.

We landed on Stuttgart’s runway 25 about ten minutes behind schedule, at 5:21 p.m.

Five minutes later, we parked at a remote spot in front of the terminal.

From there, it took just over 10 minutes until a bus dropped us off at the terminal building, bringing the flight to an end.

Eurowings (Avion Express Malta) A320 Economy Class Summary

While I am not sure what flying on actual Eurowings aircraft rather than on one wet-leased from Avion Express Malta is like, I can say with certainty that it does not get much more “low-cost” than what my experience on this flight was.

Not unexpectedly, the legroom was close to non-existent and there was no free onboard service.

All in all, there is nothing wrong with taking Eurowings if it is the cheapest or best timed option for the route you need to travel on. However, in other cases, I would avoid flying the airline, especially if the flight would be operated by Avion Express Malta.

The post Review: Eurowings (Avion Express Malta) A320 from London to Stuttgart appeared first on KN Aviation.

Continue reading this review to see what the economy class flight was like. While Air China has switched the aircraft type on the route to the A350-900 since then, this review should still give you a good idea of what the service on your flight will be like if you are flying to London or what your aircraft will be like if you are flying somewhere else on the A330-300.

Transfer, Lounge & Boarding at Beijing Capital Airport

After arriving in Beijing from Jeju on an Air China 737-800, I followed the transfer signs, which ended up leading me, as well as a few other passengers to a dead end. As such, we made a U-turn and headed back, finally finding the actual transfer area.

From there on, things were smooth – I had my boarding pass stamped twice (a couple of meters apart…), went through a security check (where I had to take out all my camera gear), and then found myself in Terminal 3E’s departure area.

As I still had a couple of hours until my flight to London, scheduled to depart at 2:30AM, would depart, I took some aircraft photos before heading to the Air China Business Class Lounge for a quick shower and a bite to eat.

I left the lounge around 1:45AM and headed to gate E14.

Outside, an Airbus A330-300 registered B-8385 was being prepared for the flight. Having been delivered to Air China brand new in August 2017, the aircraft was just seven years old.

Boarding started at 1:52AM and, being a Star Alliance Gold member, I was able to be among the first onboard despite flying in economy class.

At the end of the jetway, China Daily and a newspaper in Chinese were available for passengers to take.

Air China A330-300 Economy Class Cabin & Seat

Air China operates A330-300s in two different configurations – an older configuration with 311 seats and a newer configuration with 301 seats. The aircraft operating my flight to London was in the latter configuration.

It was equipped with 30 full-flat business class seats in a 2-2-2 layout and 271 economy class seats in a 2-4-2 layout. The first two economy class rows were marketed as “premium economy” but were simply economy class seats with more legroom than the remaining rows.

There were no individual air vents on the overhead panels.

The seats offered decent legroom and lacked an in-flight entertainment box which would take away valuable leg space.

Additionally, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the seats were equipped with leg rests, something that is a rarity nowadays.

The seatback in front housed a relatively small and low-resolution in-flight entertainment screen, a literature compartment, a small seat pocket, a coat hook, and a tray table which could be folded in half and or used as a cup holder.

While the seats lacked USB charging ports, there were shared (i.e. one per window-side seat pair and three per middle section group of four seats) universal power outlets under the seats.

Air China Flight 851 Departure

Upon boarding, a decent-size pillow and a blanket were waiting on each seat and headphones were placed in each seat pocket.

At 2:18AM, we were welcomed onboard by the captain who also mentioned that our flight time would be 10 hours and 20 minutes.

By continuing to fly over Russian airspace, Chinese airlines are able to offer considerably shorter flight times than their Western counterparts. While there is no non-Chinese airline currently connecting Beijing and London, in the case of Shanghai, for example, China Eastern’s flights take approximately 11.5 to 12 hours while British Airways’ and Virgin Atlantic’s flights take over 13 to 13.5 hours.

Having fallen asleep shortly after boarding, I am not sure when exactly we were pushed back. However, we started taxiing toward runway 36R at 2:39AM and took off 10 minutes later.

Air China Long-Haul Economy Class Late Night Light Meal

About 45 minutes after take-off, a late night light meal service, which ended up dragging on until after 4AM, started.

First, drinks were served. I was pleased to receive a full can of Coke Zero rather than a half empty cup as is often the case on some airlines nowadays. About 20 minutes after I was served the drink, I was served a small tray with a tune and cheese sandwich, a packaged muffin, and a cup of water.

While the meal was nothing to write home about, it was just the right size given the late night (or early morning?) departure.

About 10 minutes after the meal was served, the crew passed through the cabin again, offering both hot and cold drinks.

Another 20 minutes or so later, just under two hours after take-off, the trays and trash were collected.

Air China A330-300 In-Flight Entertainment System

In-flight entertainment on the Air China A330-300 was available both through the in-seat screen, as well as through streaming via the aircraft’s wi-fi network. There were some differences in the content selection available on the two.

As mentioned earlier, a (decent for economy class) pair of headphones was available in the seat pocket upon boarding.

The in-seat entertainment system was available in English, Chinese, and French, and mainly controllable through the touchscreen.

It offered a selection of dozens of movies (both non-Chinese, presumably modified to one extent or another, and Chinese). There were also a few TV shows, each with a couple of episodes, as well as a variety of documentaries about nature. Music selection primarily consisted of classical music, Chinese pop, and folk.

There was one game – Do Di Zhu, a Chinese card game.

Prior to each movie, a commercial that could be fast-forwarded through was played.

In addition to entertainment, the personal screen also offered access to an in-flight map and flight information screen.

The map was fully controllable (i.e. one could zoom in and out, go to different places on the map, change the views, etc.).

Air China A330-300 Onboard Wi-Fi

While, as mentioned above, there was a wi-fi network onboard the aircraft which allowed passengers to stream entertainment, the Air China A330-300 was not equipped with internet connectivity.

Cruising Onboard an Air China A330-300

Given that the flight departed Beijing after 2AM and landed in London around 6AM, I spent most of my time onboard sleeping (luckily, I sleep well on planes, even in economy class).

That said, at some point, I paid a visit to one of the aircraft’s lavatories, which was kept fairly clean. In addition to soap, there was also body lotion.

It is also worth noting that throughout the night, the cabin crew regularly passed through the cabin offering water.

Air China Long-Haul Economy Class Breakfast

The cabin lights were switched back on around 3:15AM London time, just as we entered the Finnish airspace. At that point, we had about three hours to go until landing.

Fifteen minutes later, the breakfast service started with a drink run.

Shortly after, an announcement was made that breakfast would be offered and that there were two choices: Chinese beef porridge and omelet with potatoes. I received my breakfast around 4AM, about 45 minutes after the cabin lights were switched on.

I went with the latter option, which was just fine. In addition to the omelet and potatoes, a sausage was also part of the main. Additionally, there was a packaged croissant and some cut watermelon.

Interestingly, my neighbor opted for the former, however, after seeing the meal, regretted her decision and ended up switching her meal with the passenger sitting to her right.

About 15 minutes after the meal was served, the cabin crew went through the cabin offering drinks.

The trays were cleared about 35 minutes after the meal was served.

Arrival at London Gatwick Airport

Around 5:25AM, just as we were flying along the German coast, the cabin crew made an announcement saying we would be landing in about an hour and that onboard service would be ending in 10 minutes.

At 5:50AM, the pilots asked the cabin crew to take seats for landing, and at 6:13AM, we landed on London Gatwick’s runway 26L.

We reached our parking spot at the airport’s North Terminal at 6:27AM, eight minutes ahead of our 6:35AM scheduled time of arrival.

Going through immigration was a breeze given that Japanese passport holders can use the automated gates and in no time, I found myself waiting for a bus to London Heathrow where the next flight of my trip was departing from.

Air China A330-300 Economy Class Summary

If you are looking for an airline offering great, above average service, then Air China is not the airline for you. However, if you are looking to get from East Asia to Europe or vice versa comfortably enough, quickly, and cheaply then it is a great option.

Especially so given that on most of the airline’s flights to Europe (now including the Gatwick flight) you get to fly on Air China’s newer aircraft including its A350s and 787s for an enhanced onboard experience compared to my flight.

The post Review: Air China A330-300 Economy Class from Beijing to London Gatwick appeared first on KN Aviation.

Continue reading this review to see what the two-hour economy class flight on Air China’s Boeing 737-800 was like.

Check-in, Lounge & Boarding at Jeju Airport

I tried to check in online before the flight, however, I wasn’t able to do so since it seems like at this point, Jeju – Beijing is one of the routes on which Air China does not offer online check-in.

As such, after arriving from Seoul on an Asiana Airlines A330-300, I spent a few minutes on Jeju Airport’s observation deck before heading downstairs to see Air China’s check-in desks. While it was still almost an hour before check in would open, there was already a long line of people waiting to check in for their flight.

Not having eaten much during the day, I headed to the airport’s foodcourt and had some bibimbap before returning to the counters just in time before they would open at 7:10PM. I was flying in economy class but fortunately could use the business class counters thanks to my Star Alliance Gold status. Because of that, I had my boarding passes in just a couple of minutes.

At this point, I could have headed to the Asiana Lounge, which is located before security and serves both domestic and international Star Alliance flights departing Jeju. With the lounge being nothing to write home about, however, I decided to head through security and immigration and wait airside instead.

When I got to the security check, there was a small queue as the check was not open yet (due to the limited number of international flights at Jeju, it is not open continuously). The queue started moving about fifteen minutes after I lined up and from there it took another few minutes to clear security and immigration.

Since there is no airside lounge in Jeju Airport’s international terminal, I got a bottle of tea in the terminal’s shop and waited in front of our departure gate, gate 16, for boarding to start.

At this time, it was around 7:40PM – two hours before the flight’s scheduled departure time of 9:40PM. As such, it wasn’t until more than an hour after I got to the gate that the plane which would take me to Beijing arrived. Rather than parking at gate 16, however, it parked at a remote spot.

Boarding started around 9:30PM. I got held up at the gate briefly as the staff tried to print me a new boarding pass. It turned out that he wanted to do so because my name would be cut in half if he cut the stub off at the perforated line. Failing to reprint the boarding pass, he instead decided to rip the boarding pass in two pieces at a different place.

Once the “problem” was solved, I got on a bus that was already waiting on the apron, and within a few minutes, we pulled up in front of a nine years old Boeing 737-800 registered B-1768, which was delivered to Air China straight from Boeing’s factory in 2015.

The boarding itself was a bit chaotic with people blocking the aisle and taking time to settle in their seats, but ultimately I made it to my aisle seat 18C.

Air China 737-800 Cabin & Seat

Air China operates the 737-800 in a few different cabin configurations. The aircraft that operated my flight from Jeju to Beijing was equipped with a total of 159 seats including 12 in business class and 147 in economy class.

The business class seats were large, comfortably looking recliners in a 2-2 layout.

In economy class, the seats were in the standard 3-3 layout.

The 31-inch seat pitch provided for an average legroom that didn’t stand out against the airline’s competitors but was perfectly fine for the short, two-hour flight. The seats were well padded.

There were individual air vents on the overhead panels.

Unfortunately, the seats did not have any of the features that many airlines tend to offer on their 737s and A320s even in economy class nowadays. Most notably, the seats were USB ports and power outlets. That left passengers with no charging options given Air China’s ban on in-flight use of power banks (although I am not sure to what extent that is enforced).

The seats lacked personal entertainment screens too.

Air China Flight 712 Departure

A couple of minutes before 10PM, a safety video featuring pandas among others was played on overhead screens.

We taxied out of the remote spot 21 minutes behind schedule, at 10:01PM. At 10:07PM, we took off from Jeju Airport’s runway 25 and started making our way toward Beijing.

As soon as we were in the air, an announcement unique to flying on Chinese airlines including “I am the security team leader of this flight. According to the requirements of the Civil Aviation Administration of China, it is my duty to inform all passengers on the cabin security of this flight” and “according to the law of the People’s Republic of China, the passenger cabin is a public space, and will be subjected to audio and video collection” was played.

Another 20 minutes or so later, the captain welcomed us onboard, mentioned we would be cruising at 32,000 feet, and that our expected flight time was one hour and 50 minutes.

Air China Short-Haul Economy Class Light Meal

The seatbelt signs were switched off about half an hour after take-off. A few minutes after that, the meal service started. With the entire cabin smelling like bananas shortly after, it didn’t take long to know what would be on the menu among other things.

The meal was served in a cardboard box that included packaged plain bread roll (no butter provided) and muffing, a small wafer, and a banana. While there was the usual selection of soft drinks including sodas and juices, I decided to just get a cup of water.

While the meal was nothing to write home about, it was still better than what is provided by airlines in Europe on flights of similar length, for example. I also liked the fact that the meal was served in a box as it allowed me to then put the box in the seat pocket while waiting for the cabin crew to come collect it.

Air China 737-800 In-Flight Entertainment System

At some point during the flight, a documentary about nature was played on the overhead screens. That said, while the seat was equipped with an audio system, no earphones were provided.

Separately from that and the in-flight magazine in the seat pocket, a selection of entertainment including movies, TV shows (a lot of documentaries about nature), music (mostly classical), and games was available to stream through the aircraft’s wi-fi network.

Air China 737-800 Onboard Wi-Fi

While there was an onboard wi-fi network, it was there only to stream entertainment from Air China’s library. There was no internet access, free or paid.

Arrival at Beijing Capital Airport

Other than a person in the row in front of me reclining her seat abruptly and smashing the head of my neighbor, which resulted in a brief argument between them, the rest of the flight was uneventful.

At 10:35PM local time, we started our descent toward Beijing and at 11:10PM, we landed on Beijing Capital Airport’s runway 01.

We reached our arrival gate E53 at 11:18PM, 18 minutes behind schedule.

Air China 737-800 Economy Class Summary

Other than lacking charging options, the ride on Air China’s Boeing 737-800 in economy class was about as comfortable as it gets.

While the meal was fairly plain, the volume was more than sufficient for the late night departure.

The post Review: Air China 737-800 Economy Class from Jeju to Beijing Capital appeared first on KN Aviation.

With that, continue reading this review to see what you can expect when flying on an Asiana Airlines A330 on a domestic flight in South Korea.

Check-in, Lounge & Boarding at Seoul Gimpo Airport

Having checked in online without any issues, I skipped the check-in counters located on the second floor of Gimpo Airport’s domestic terminal and headed to the third floor where the security check and departure gates can be found.

The line at security check was shorter than most other times I traveled through the airport and so I was airside within five minutes. That said, I wasn’t spared an extra check of my carry-on. In fact, I feel like my camera equipment got swabbed more often on this trip than anytime in the past – I wonder why.

With almost two hours left before my flight’s scheduled departure time of 4:35PM, I headed to Asiana Airlines’ lounge, which I could access thanks to my Star Alliance Gold status, once airside.

While the lounge was nothing special (it only serves passengers departing on hour-long domestic flights after all), it was still a better place to relax and get some work done in than the terminal’s public area.

I left the lounge just after 4PM and headed to gate 17 where a 19-year old A330-300 registered HL7740, which was delivered new to Asiana Airlines in 2005, was being prepared for the flight.

Boarding of the nearly full flight started at 4:09PM. Those requiring assistance were invited to board first, followed by business class passengers, Star Alliance Gold members, and those sitting in emergency exit row seats.

Asiana Airlines A330-300 Cabin & Seat

Asiana Airlines operates A330-300s in two configurations – one with 290 seats and one with 298 seats. Both of the configurations feature 30 business class seats. The latter have an extra row of economy class seats and slightly more modern seats.

Stepping onboard the aircraft, I passed through the business class cabin, which was equipped with five rows of angled flat seats in a 2-2-2 layout. While the seats were well past their prime, they were still considerably better than what most other airlines offer on flights of similar duration.

Economy class seats were in a 2-4-2 layout and, as one would expect from older generation seats, were well-padded. The legroom provided by the 32 to 33 inches seat pitch of the 290-seater I was on was good as well. That said, there was a rather bulky in-flight entertainment box under window seats.

There were no individual air vents on the overhead panels.

Taking a closer look at the seat, there were a (at this point vintage) 6.5-inch low-resolution in-flight entertainment screen, a single-piece tray table, and a seat pocket on the seatback in front. There was also an (essentially useless as you will see later) in-flight entertainment controller in the armrest.

There were no power outlets or USB charging ports in economy class.

It is worth noting here that the 298-seater A330s feature larger, 10.6-inch screens and universal power outlets in economy class.

Asiana Airlines Flight 8967 Departure

Just after 4:30PM, we were welcomed onboard by the captain who mentioned that it was clear and 21 degrees Celsius in Jeju. I found it interesting that he also mentioned the temperature in Fahrenheit, something I haven’t encountered in Asia (or outside North America for that matter) before.

Then, the cabin crew armed the aircraft’s doors, saying Asiana’s unique “Number one, clear,” “Number two, clear,” up to number four while doing so.

We were pushed back just one minute behind schedule, at 4:36PM, and started making our way to runway 32L.

We took off at 4:48PM and made a left turn to set course for Jeju.

During the turn, a nice view of Gimpo Airport and Seoul’s suburbs surrounding it could be had.

Asiana Airlines Domestic Economy Class Drink Service

The seatbelt signs were switched off about five minutes after take-off, at which point the cabin crew started preparing for a drink service. From there, it took less then 10 minutes until it was my time to choose.

A selection of soft drinks including sodas and juices was offered, and I went with Coke.

Empty cups were collected about five minutes later.

Asiana Airlines A330-300 In-Flight Entertainment System

While, as mentioned earlier, the aircraft was equipped with tiny in-flight entertainment screens, there was no content for passengers to choose from. Instead, airshow (map and flight information) and ads were played on loop throughout the flight.

Asiana Airlines A330-300 Onboard Wi-Fi

The 390-seater A330-300 that I was flying on wasn’t equipped with onboard wi-fi.

Arrival at Jeju Airport

The remainder of the flight after the drink service was uneventful.

That said, at some point, we flew past Gwangju Airport (only served from Seoul and Jeju) allowing me to get some photos of the airport I have yet to visit.

The cabin crew started preparing the cabin for landing around 5:10PM, just 20 minutes after take-off.

Another 20 minutes later, Jeju Island could be seen from the left side windows, and less than an hour after take off, at 5:40PM, we landed on Jeju Airport’s runway 25.

We arrived at our gate at 5:46PM, four minutes ahead of schedule.

Asiana Airlines A330-300 Domestic Economy Class Summary

While the 290-seater A330-300’s outdated cabin makes it an aircraft you would not want to fly on a long-haul flight these days, it worked perfectly fine for a one-hour domestic hop.

Given that the flight was on time, the seat was comfortable enough, and there was a free drink service, the flight was about as good as it gets on short domestic flights.

The post Review: Asiana Airlines A330-300 Economy Class from Seoul to Jeju appeared first on KN Aviation.

Continue reading this review to see what the economy class hop from Tokyo Haneda to Seoul Gimpo, which also happened to be my first international flight out of Haneda Airport’s Terminal 2, was like.

Check-in, Lounge & Boarding at Tokyo Haneda Airport

I got to Haneda Airport’s recently reopened international section of Terminal 2 around 6:30AM, just over two hours before my flight’s scheduled departure time of 8:40AM.

While I selected my seat and checked in online beforehand, I had to stop by the counters to drop off my bag. Doing so took a few minutes since I could not use the automated machines. It turned out the staff had to check my onward ticket from South Korea given that the itinerary I was traveling on was one-way into the country.

With very few passengers being in the terminal in the early morning hours, going through security and immigration was a breeze.

I appreciated the compactness of Terminal 2’s international area, which makes traveling through Haneda feel like using a relatively small regional airport rather than one of the largest airports in the world. Terminal 3, which is the main terminal used for international flights, is quite similar in that regard.

It’s also worth pointing out that taking laptop out of carry-on baggage at security was not necessary thanks to the use of advanced scanners. I certainly wish all airports installed them.

Airside, I headed straight to the new ANA Lounge that I could access thanks to my Star Alliance Gold status.

In many regards the lounge was similar to all of the other international ANA Lounges. That said, it was more spacious and offered some elements such as a large open seating area right after its entrance and a live kitchen not seen in the older lounges.

I stayed in the lounge until just before 8AM when I headed to gate 66 where the flight to Seoul was departing from.

Passengers requiring assistance were invited to board at 8:12AM, and a couple of minutes later, boarding group 1 (ANA Mileage Club Diamond members) were invited to board.

At 8:15AM, group 2, which included business class passengers and Star Alliance Gold members, was called. At that point, I had my boarding pass scanned, walked down the jetway, and stepped onboard a Boeing 767-300ER registered JA625A, which was delivered to ANA brand new in 2011.

ANA 767-300ER (International) Cabin & Seats

ANA operates Boeing 767-300ERs in two different configurations. While the aircraft used on domestic flights are equipped with 270 seats including 10 in Premium Class, the aircraft used on international flights only have 202 seats including 35 in business class.

Business class on the 767 configured for international flights consisted of cradle seats in the rather uncommon (at least for other aircraft types) 2-1-2 layout. The seats themselves were the same as those that can be found on some ANA 787-8s.

In economy class, the seats were in a 2-3-2 layout with a 31-inch seat pitch.

Rather than reclining the traditional way, they featured a “shell” design, which meant that the seat slid forward when “reclining” without affecting the passenger sitting behind.

The headrest was not adjustable. Interestingly, there were “Headrest Fixed” stickers on the seatbacks informing passengers about that.

There were no individual air vents on the overhead panels.

Zooming in, the seatback in front of me was equipped with a, for today’s standards, small nine-inch touchscreen, an in-flight entertainment controller, USB-A charging port, and even an eXport – an aged port that allowed passengers to connect their iPods to the system in the past. There was a coat hook.

Under the screen was a large, single-piece tray table. What was nice was that there were two cup holders – one that could be used when the tray table was closed and one that could be used when the tray table was open.

Each seat had access to a power outlet too.

ANA Flight 861 Departure

Given that the flight would be just about two hours long, I found it nice that ANA provided blankets by default (there was one on each seat upon boarding) rather than only offering them on demand.

Headphones were waiting in each seat pocket upon boarding too.

Just two minutes behind schedule, at 8:42AM, we were pushed back and started making our way toward our departure runway 34R.

While doing so, the safety video was played on the individual screens. Rather than trying to be creative, the video was simple and to the point, the way safety videos used to be in general before airline started to use them as marketing tools.

We took off at 8:54AM.

As can be expected from the rocket-like 767, the take-off run was very short and the angle very steep. During the initial climb, we were offered some excellent views of Haneda Airport and Tokyo Disney Resort.

About five minutes after take-off, one of the flight attendants announced that tray tables and seat reclining could be used, that onboard wi-fi would not be available on the flight, and that we were expecting to arrive in Seoul at 11:05AM.

ANA Short-Haul International Economy Class Meal

Seatbelt signs were switched off a bit more than 10 minutes after take-off.

Another 10 minutes later, breakfast service started with a packaged wet towel.

From there, it took another 15 minutes or so until the meal was served just after half past nine.

While there were no options to choose from, the portion (or even just the fact that a proper meal was served) was incredibly generous. The main “gyu-kalbi-don” beef rice bowl came with two sides – smoked duck and a salad. There were even a dessert in the form of fruit mousse on chocolate and a salty snack pack. For drink, I asked for some cold green tea.

Not only was the portion large, but the meal tasted good too. I especially enjoyed the duck, which went well with the potato salad it was served with, and the fresh salad.

One thing I appreciated about the meal was that proper metal cutlery was provided.

On the other hand, while the crew was nice and professional, when serving the meals, the flight attendants seemed to be a bit uncoordinated, which slowed things down a bit.

Still, the meal trays were cleared about an hour into the flight. After that, the crew went around the cabin offering hot green tea and coffee.

ANA 767-300ER (International) In-Flight Entertainment System

As mentioned earlier, the seat was equipped with an outdated, unresponsive nine-inch touchscreen. Combined with a terrible user interface, the in-flight entertainment system was not worth using on a two-hour flight.

That said, the provided headphones were decent.

In terms of content, the selection was not too great either. That said, there was plenty of movies, TV shows, and music to keep passengers entertained on the short flight. There were also news programs (BBC and NHK).

It’s worth noting that rather than TV shows having their own section and being displayed as shows and then episodes within each show, they were lumped together with movies and each episode was treated as a separate “movie.”

In addition to entertainment content, there was also an in-flight map. One could choose to either watch one of the four provided views or a loop of all of them. There was also an interactive mode where one could move around the map, however, given how slow the system was, I did not give it a try.

What I found nice was that in addition to the map, a downward-facing camera view was also offered.

ANA 767-300ER (International) Onboard Wi-Fi

ANA’s 767-300ERs in international configuration are equipped with OnAir in-flight connectivity hardware. That said, currently, the airline is not offering internet access on the type.

Arrival at Seoul Gimpo Airport

The rest of the flight was uneventful.

At some point, I paid a visit to one of the lavatories. While there were no amenities other than soap, as is generally the case with Japanese aircraft, the lavatory was very clean.

The flight started approaching its end when the seatbelt signs were switched on at 10:40AM in preparation for landing in Seoul.

We landed on Gimpo Airport’s runway 32R at 10:54AM. Given that Gimpo Airport is located close to Seoul’s city center and given the direction we were approaching from, amazing views of the city could be had shortly before landing.

Five minutes of taxiing later and six minutes ahead of schedule, at 10:59AM, we came to a full stop at one of the parking spots at Seoul Gimpo’s International Terminal.

ANA 767-300ER International Economy Class Summary

There is not much that can go wrong on a two-hour long flight as long as it arrives on time.

ANA managed to do that and more. The airline offered a full meal even though the flight departed relatively early in the morning and the seats were comfortable enough for the short hop. Power outlets and USB ports, and even in-flight entertainment system, were available onboard too.

That said, while the in-flight entertainment system had more than enough content for the short flight, it was extremely slow and the screen was fairly small.

The post Review: ANA 767-300ER Economy Class from Tokyo Haneda to Seoul Gimpo appeared first on KN Aviation.

Continue reading this review to see what the short-haul economy class flight was like.

Check-in, Lounge & Boarding at Seoul Incheon Airport

After arriving at Seoul Gimpo from Jeju on Asiana’s last passenger 767 and spending some time with a friend around the airport, I made my way to Incheon Airport.

Since I already checked in online beforehand and was traveling with carry-on luggage only, I went straight to security. As seems to be typical, there was a fairly long queue, so it wasn’t until over 20 minutes later that I found myself airside. Unlike the security check, immigration was a breeze.

With boarding scheduled to start at 6:15PM, just over 30 minutes after I got airside, I did not have time to do lounge hopping as I initially planned. Instead, I stopped by Lounge L, a Priority Pass lounge that was on the way to my departure gate 238, for a few minutes.

The lounge was nothing to write home about but allowed me to grab a quick bite to eat.

I left the lounge around 6PM and arrived at the departure gate about ten minutes later.

Boarding started earlier than planned and with no one else in the Sky Priority lane, I was the first passenger to board. The next passenger didn’t get on the aircraft until four or five minutes later.

Korean Air A321neo Cabin & Seat

Korean Air’s A321neos are equipped with 182 seats including eight in business (Prestige) class and 174 in economy class. While operating similar flights, the A321neo seats in both economy and business class were considerably better equipped than their 737 MAX 8 counterparts.

In business class, the aircraft had two 2-2 rows of full-flat seats. The seats were not only equipped with the obligatory power outlet and USB charging port but also with wireless charging.

In economy class, the seats were in the typical 3-3 layout.

There were individual air vents on the overhead panels and each seat was equipped with a large, high-resolution personal screen. Each seat was also equipped with a fully adjustable headrest and a coat hook.

The legroom was good too. While there was an in-flight entertainment system box between the window and the middle seat, it was compact enough not to cause any discomfort.

Zooming in on the seat, there were more charging options than one could possibly need.

Each seat was equipped with a USB-A charging port under its screen. Additionally, there were two universal power outlets and two USB-C ports per row of three seats.

The tray table was quite small and could not be folded in half but it did its job.

Korean Air Flight 705 Departure

Upon boarding, earphones were handed out at the aircraft door.

Later on, once everyone was onboard (the load was quite light with only about 65% to 70% of the seats taken), immigration and customs forms for Japan were handed out, followed by earphones once again.

At 6:45PM, the captain welcomed us onboard and mentioned that we would be flying for an hour and 55 minutes.

A K-pop-themed safety video followed. Unlike the one with an AI-generated model on the 737 MAX, this one was harder to understand. The two videos provided a good contrast between how some videos arguably focus on marketing rather than effectively conveying the message about safety and others just deliver a straightforward message about safety.

We pushed back at 6:58PM – 13 minutes behind schedule – and started taxiing toward our departure runway ten minutes later.

At 7:17PM, we took off.

Korean Air Short-Haul Economy Class Dinner

Seatbelt signs were switched about five minutes after take-off and at that point, the cabin lights were turned back on too.

Shortly after that, the meal service started. My row was served about fifteen minutes after the seatbelt signs were switched off.

There were no options to choose from. Instead, everyone was served a box with a hot main (tomato beef stew), almond and sweet potato salad, a piece of pineapple, and a packaged bread roll. Additionally, drinks were offered; I opted for a cup of orange juice.

While the meal was nothing to write home about (I preferred the one served on my 2AM flight to Seoul earlier that day), there is no denying the fact that even being served a hot meal on a two-hour flight is nice to see these days.

Korean Air A321neo In-Flight Entertainment System

The in-flight entertainment system was where the Korean Air A321neo really shined. It was the most modern one I had a chance to experience in economy class so far. The selection of content was good too.

Among other things, there were dozens of movies new and old along with quite a few TV shows. As is often the case, though, there were only a couple of episodes of most of the TV shows. Additionally, there was a selection of music.

Of course, there was a fully customizable in-flight map too.

In addition to the content being available through the personal screen, it was also available for streaming to personal devices through the onboard wi-fi network.

What made the in-flight entertainment stand out, though, was its Bluetooth connectivity allowing passengers to:

• Connect their phone to the seat and use the phone as a touchpad to control the in-flight entertainment system and to control turn on/off the reading light and call the flight attendant buttons
• Connect their wireless earphones to use with the in-flight entertainment system

Korean Air A321neo Onboard Wi-Fi

Technically, the Korean Air A321neo I was flying on was equipped with onboard wi-fi.

That said, internet connectivity was not available during the flight even though an announcement was made at the beginning of the flight that it would. A similar thing also happened on my flight from Tokyo to Seoul.

Arrival at Tokyo Narita Airport

Other than a duty free sales run and a brief turbulence, the rest of the flight was fairly uneventful.

That said, at some point, I started wondering why the cabin felt quite bright even though the cabin lights were turned off. At that point, I realized that everyone’s reading lights were on. I have no idea why that was the case, but I was able to turn mine off by pressing the reading light switch without any issues.

At 8:41PM, the pilots asked the cabin crew to prepare for landing and exactly 20 minutes later, we landed on Tokyo Narita’s runway 16L.

We came to a full stop at our Terminal 1 arrival gate at 9:15PM, 10 minutes behind schedule. From there, it took another five minutes until I was able to disembark and start making my way home after a tiring but very enjoyable trip.

Korean Air A321neo Summary

The Korean Air A321neo flight from Seoul to Tokyo was about as good as it gets in economy class on a short, two-hour flight.

Not only did Korean Air serve a hot meal but the aircraft was also equipped with all the bells and whistles that would have made it an acceptable environment even on a long-haul flight. There were personal screens, plenty of charging options, and even the ability to pair one’s wireless earphones with the in-flight entertainment system.

Other than the fact that the meal was not as enjoyable as the one on my flight to Seoul, there is nothing negative I can say about that flight. Even that is really a personal preference issue than an issue with Korean Air per se.

The post Review: Korean Air A321neo Economy Class from Seoul Incheon to Tokyo Narita appeared first on KN Aviation.

Fun fact: I flew on the same route with Korean Air back in 2017. Back then, the flight was operated by a Boeing 747.

Continue reading this review to see what the short domestic economy class flight was like.

Check-in, Lounge & Boarding at Seoul Gimpo Airport

As soon as I booked the flight, I was able to easily pick a seat online. Later on, I was also able to check in smoothly via Korean Air’s app (for some reason I could not do so through its website as it would not accept my date of birth saying the format was wrong even though it was correct).

With that, I skipped lining up at the check-in counters and headed straight to security check which is one floor above Gimpo Airport’s domestic check-in area. The security check took about 15 minutes to clear.

Once airside, I walked around the terminal a bit and took some photos of aircraft that were waiting for their first flights of the day before heading to Korean Air’s KAL Lounge.

Since I got to the airport very early (6AM for 10:25AM departure) due to having arrived at Incheon from Tokyo around 5AM, I spent a few hours getting some work done in the nothing-to-write-home-about-but-perfectly-fine lounge.

It was interesting to see the airport being equipped with pet toilets and nice to see comfortable sofa seating available for pregnant, older, etc. passengers in addition to the regular chairs.

I left the lounge around 9:55AM and headed to gate 7 where the my flight was scheduled to depart from.

Soon after I got there, an announcement was made that boarding would start a bit late at 10:10AM due to the late arrival of our aircraft. At that time, passengers were getting off the aircraft, and pilots were waiting at the gate to get onboard the plane and prepare for the next flight.

Regular boarding started at 10:10AM as announced, with Sky Priority passengers being invited to board first, followed by groups one through three.

With that, I had my boarding pass scanned and headed onboard the A220 where Abba music was playing in the background.

Korean Air A220-300 Cabin & Seat

Korean Air operates ten A220-300s, all in a single-class configuration with 140 economy class seats in the fairly rare 2-3 layout. Interestingly, the seat color differed from the airline’s 737 MAX 8 and A321neo that I flew on the trip.

In addition to nice, large windows, the aircraft was also equipped with individual air vents.

In terms of comfort, the legroom was relatively tight but what I found worse was the lack of seat padding.

The seats were some of the hardest, if not the hardest that I remember flying in.

The seats featured a fully adjustable headrest, a USB-A charging port, a universal power outlet, and a single-piece tray table.

There was also a safety card compartment above the tray table and a regular seat pocket under it. The latter included an in-flight magazine, a waste bag, and an in-flight entertainment instructions guide.

Korean Air Flight 1067 Departure

At 10:24AM, we were welcomed onboard the flight by the captain who also mentioned that we would be flying for 53 minutes.

Shortly after, the aircraft doors were closed and the crew performed a manual safety demonstration.

We were pushed back at 10:29AM, four minutes behind schedule.

A short taxi to the departure runway 32L, which included crossing runway 34R, followed before we took off into gloomy Seoul skies at 10:41AM.

Korean Air Domestic Economy Class Service

Ten minutes after take-off, the onboard service, which consisted of a drink run, started.

Choices included juices, Coca-Cola, iced coffee, iced tea, and water. I asked for a cup of Coke.

Seatbelt signs were switched off a couple of minutes after the service started, at 10:55AM.

Korean Air A220-300 In-Flight Entertainment and Onboard Wi-Fi

The Korean Air A220-300 was equipped with an onboard wi-fi network. Access to the internet was not available, though. Instead, the network could only be used for in-flight entertainment streaming.

It was easy to connect to the streaming system (no app was necessary) and the content selection was the same as that on the 737 MAX 8 I flew earlier that morning.

A decent selection of movies was included. While there were some TV Shows, the selection was limited and each show only offered a couple of episodes. Some music was available too. Lastly, an in-flight map that automatically rotated between a variety of views was offered.

Arrival at Jeju Airport

Around 11AM, we encountered some turbulence and so the pilots switched the seatbelt signs on. They stayed on for the rest of the flight.

Soon after, we started descending toward Jeju and at 11:35AM, we landed on the airport’s runway 25.

We came to a full stop at our remote parking spot at 11:39AM – one minute ahead of schedule. From there, it took another five minutes for us to be bussed to the terminal.

Korean Air A220-300 Economy Class Summary

While I was happy to log the A220, I was also glad it was on a short, one-hour domestic hop rather than one of the longer routes Korean Air deploys the aircraft on. While the aircraft’s large windows and well-equipped cabin were nice, they were not nice enough to compensate for the rather uncomfortable hard seats.

On the other hand, the service was perfectly fine. The flight arrived on time in spite of the slightly delayed departure and, as an added bonus, free drinks were served.

All in all, while I would not hesitate to fly on a domestic Korean Air flight again, I would probably opt for one operated by one of the airline’s larger aircraft which I believe have more comfortable seats.

The post Review: Korean Air A220-300 Economy Class from Seoul Gimpo to Jeju appeared first on KN Aviation.