Review of Asiana Airlines flight Bangkok Seoul in Business

Airline Asiana Airlines
Flight OZ742
Class Business
Seat 8K
Aircraft Airbus A380-800
Flight time 05:35
Take-off 04 Aug 14, 01:10
Arrival at 04 Aug 14, 08:45
OZ 106 reviews
Yabboritow
By 8913
Published on 15th February 2015
Hello Everyone!

I have been reading flight reports here for a few years now and I really enjoy them.

This is my first time ever writing a flight report.

Introduction :

During summer break 2014, I went back to my home country; Thailand for a few months. I was planning to visit Taipei and try EVA air B777-300er business class as they now joined Star Alliance. (Un)fortunately, my plan got changed suddenly when Asiana announced their first routes for their first two A380s which were scheduled to be delivered in late July - early August 2014. Asiana decided to put one of their baby A380 on ICN-BKK route as part of crew training. I thought that might be the only chance to try this product as Asiana would likely put those planes on the transpacific routes later on and I could not see myself travelling to the US via the Pacific for the time being.(I'm based in Paris so it'd rather be a transatlantic one. ;)) Lucky for me as I have been to Seoul once back in 2010 and really loved the city, the people and especially the food!!!. I also have friends who were studying there so why not visiting this city again with a nice new plane on an airline I've never flown?

The routing was simple enough :

OZ742 BKK-ICN Asiana Airline C A380 –>> You are here
OZ741 ICN-BKK Asiana Airline C A380–>> http://flight-report.com/en/report-9392.html


***Please note that I did not intend to write flight reports for these flights so there will not be a good amount of photos here and there**** Please accept my apologies


As the flight departs pretty late (after midnight), I left my apartment in downtown bangkok at around 9pm and took the BTS skytrain to Phayathai station. For those who are familiar with Bangkok public transport, you might know that you can connect to the Airport Rail Link at this station. It took me around 40 minutes to the to the airport. It was raining at that time and I wouldn't take a taxi in this condition. Rain + Bangkok's traffic = a nightmare.

I decided to check-in online the day before so I could confirm my seat which was 8K.
photo IMG_7560photo IMG_7564
Check-in counters for OZ742 is right behind this gigantic queue, I struggled a bit finding the OZ counters ;P

I finally find the check-in counter. Asiana uses their partner TG's ground staff. The male agent was nice though no smile issued me my boarding pass, lounge invitation and the premium lane card. The latter is primordial during these hours when a lot of flights leave for Europe. BKK's security check is most of the time chaotic. sorry no photos

I then passed security and customs check and headed to the lounge. OZ uses (again) their partner's lounge with was TG royal silk lounge(s). At BKK, TG has many lounges situated each at their respective concourse as the airport is quite widespread it might take you up to 20 minutes or even more to walk from concourse A to F, for example. Even though my flight tonight leaves from gate C3, I decided to visit the concourse D lounge which is the largest one and just opposite the Royal Orchid Spa, to which I'm not eligible tonight. ;(

The lounge was as I expected crowded but I managed to find myself a seat next to a Korean family. Are they flying on the same flight? We will see. ;)

photo IMG_7573
Lounge catering : The chicken noodle soup which was bland.


Finally made it to the Gate C3
photo IMG_7584photo IMG_7585



No photos at boarding. The priority was respected. Boarding was actually 15 minutes late from the scheduled time.

Asiana A380 has 3 cabin classes. First Suites are located at the front of the lower deck, followed by economy class cabin. The Business class cabin is divided into 2 sections with 5 rows up front on the upper deck, followed by a larger Business section with an Y section at the back.

The C seat is the staggered layout configuration found on many airlines. (EK, EY, TG etc.) The Oz version looks like this :
photo DSC02303

Many people don't like Asiana choice of colour scheme, but personally I find it quite soothing. What was waiting for me is the comfort kit which were : a pair of slippers and an eye shade.


I was greeted my a very polite flight attendant who escorted me to my seat 8K. While I was settling down, another FA came with a tray of drinks which consisted of only orange juice and water.

The reading light and headphone :
photo DSC02306
I really like to finishing of the seat!

The very good size IFE which is still lacking in contents
photo DSC02308

Seat control which is intuitive and the ex3 remote!! my favourite :D
photo DSC02309

Ear plugs and eye-shade
photo DSC02310


Then, a a few minutes later, I was given a scented hot towel.
photo IMG_7602



During boarding it was some time past the scheduled departure time and we still did not leave the gate. An announcement was made to apologise and explain that they have a delay of documents that allow them to fly (don't know how you call this in English, sorry) This did not bother me as I was on vacation and I could enjoy the seat more hehe. As I was taking pictures, A FA came to me and offered to take a picture of me with the seat, which I accepted :)

Another FA came to my seat and kneeled down while asking my permission if they could wake me up for breakfast and my choice. This was extremely courteous. No paper menu was distributed though… ;( It was not necessary on this flight and I've heard that Oz is quite strict about the menus. They take it back right after you've ordered so didn't bother to ask for one… haha


The service on this flight will only be the breakfast service 90 minutes before landing. A bag of nuts and a drink service was done right after take off. I found this quite logical since it was late at night and they tried to let the pax sleep on this short red-eye flight.

It was raining.
photo IMG_7604


Safety Demonstration after push back
photo IMG_7606




Tooth brush in the lav. You can find all you need here. (combs, shaving kit etc, lotion)
photo IMG_7614


This lavatory is enormous but did not take photos here ;(

The lounge area which was not used on this flight. it looks exactly the same as the TG.
photo IMG_7616

I took a quick nap of 2 and a half hours. I found the bed mode quite comfortable. I'm not a big guy so I didn't find it claustrophobic at all. and again no photo of the bed sorry

When it times for breakfast, I was waken up the the mood-lighting which somehow was able to pass though my eye shade…

It all started with a selection of fruit and yogurt. The fruits were very refreshing.
photo DSC02311

The main dish came with a croissant. It was the omelette breakfast on the plane which tasted quite nice. A FA came around and asked If I would like some ketchup with it.
photo DSC02312photo DSC02313

After the service I opened the window and it seemed like we were approaching Seoul.
photo DSC02315

and we landed
photo DSC02316

I lingered a bit after we arrived at the gate to take some more pictures of the cabin. It looked much better with natural light. :D


I was the last C passenger to leave the aircraft. The FAs were blocking the aisle to make sure that all C passengers disembark first. (All other pax on the C cabin behind had left already and there was a queue of Y pax in the rear of the upper deck waiting for,well, me to leave. I felt so guilty.)

and on my way to the city, which is a lonnnnnng way from ICN.
photo IMG_7663







See more

Verdict

Asiana Airlines

8.4/10
Cabin10.0
Cabin crew10.0
Entertainment/wifi5.0
Meal/catering8.5

Thai Airways Royal Silk Lounge At Concourse D

8.2/10
Comfort8.0
Meal/catering7.0
Entertainment/wifi9.0
Services9.0

Bangkok - BKK

8.6/10
Efficiency8.0
Access9.5
Services8.0
Cleanliness9.0

Seoul - ICN

9.1/10
Efficiency10.0
Access7.5
Services9.0
Cleanliness10.0

Conclusion

My first flight with Asiana was impressive. It was like a love at first flight kind of thing. The plane was brand new and wasn't even a month old.

The level of service from the crew was fantastic as expected from a 5-star Asian carrier. Very polite and courteous. A bit of the language barrier which was not an issue.

The catering is of high quality. Breakfast choice on the plane is always boring though.

IFE : This is where OZ fails tremendously. Even when with the newer planes and better screens , the contents are a lot to be desired.

Punctuality : Around half and hour late on departure, which resulted in a 15 minutes late on arrival.

ICN is always a nice airport to be. it's just too far from the city.

Thank you for reading. Any comments or suggestions are welcomed. Will make better FRs in the future.

Information on the route Bangkok (BKK) Seoul (ICN)

Les contributeurs de Flight-Report ont posté 7 avis concernant 3 compagnies sur la ligne Bangkok (BKK) → Seoul (ICN).


Useful

La compagnie qui obtient la meilleure moyenne est Thai Airways avec 8.1/10.

La durée moyenne des vols est de 5 heures et 36 minutes.

  More information

11 Comments

If you liked this review or if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to post a comment below !
  • Comment 129445 by
    Aubin 231 Comments
    Nice FR, thanks. I'm not fond of the colors though.
  • Comment 129447 by
    AirCanada881 1616 Comments
    Good report, flew om the same seat on TG it was pretty good but SQ's business vlass is far superior :)
  • Comment 129457 by
    jetsetpanda 2283 Comments
    Welcome and thank you for sharing this report on an A380.

    You might want to edit some of the vertical shots so that they will be easier to view.

    Nice catering and it looks like you received great service from the crew.
  • Comment 129495 by
    02022001 GOLD 4375 Comments
    Really nice airlines that's Asiana !
    Thanks ;)
  • Comment 129636 by
    KévinDC TEAM SILVER 6668 Comments
    Hi there and thanks for sharing your first report! It is really good with lots of details and a good amount of pics for a first report! It is great that you got to fly the brand new OZ A380 on this route! The seat color is not great, but I imagine it looks better in real life--and it's definitely nicer than Eva Air's grey and green :-)
    It's nice that OZ put a lounge for Premium cabin passengers. Some airlines (ahem, AF) haven't utilized the extra space very well. I see you've already published several other reports! That's great! going to check them out now.

    Welcome to Flight-Report!

    KevinDC - Community Manager
    • Comment 310815 by
      Yabboritow AUTHOR 16 Comments
      Hello Kevin and thank you for your kind comment!

      It is always a good idea to fly a baby plane with the 'new plane smell'. I was so lucky when OZ decided to put their A380 on this route while I was in Thailand.
      The seat colour did make the cabin feel more spacious with its lightness, not so imposing like the darker ones.
      I still really want to try EVA Air product out. Hope I can make it this summer haha.
      No one told be before that wiring flight reports could be this addictive! Looking forward to wiring many more soon.
      Thank you for checking my reports out. Really appreciated it.
  • Comment 402428 by
    STAR-ALLIANCE-FLYER 48 Comments
    Could you walk freely inside BKK? My flight leaves dubai at Concourse C, but i want to use SQ lounge at Concourse D, and Eva air lounge at Concourse F, how long does it to walk there? Is BKK like Seoul Incheon? where home carriers are separated from foreign carriers?

Login to post a comment.