Flight: Asiana Airlines OZ 201 from LAX to Incheon and Asiana Airlines OZ 202 from Incheon to LAX
Aircraft: B748 (Boeing 747-800)
Class: Business
Seat: 9A (Upper deck, Window)
Seat Specification: Angled-Flat, 170 degree recline, Seat pitch: 60″, Seat width: 20″
Note: This review is based on flights that Karen took by herself. While returning together from our Maldives trip, we went separate ways from ICN. She took the OZ 202 to LAX and I took OZ 214 to SFO.
Asiana Airlines operates a Boeing 747 in this long haul route. This would be my first time in the upper deck of a 747. The upper deck business class felt more spacious and exclusive due to 2 x 2 configuration instead of the 2 x 3 x 2 configuration downstairs. There are a total of 45 Business class seats with 24 seats in the upper deck and 21 in the lower deck.
Upon entering the aircraft, I was directed up and the cabin crew even carried my baggage up the stairs. For pre-departure beverage only water/orange juice was offered (What happened to the champagne? :)).
I don’t know if it was due to the size of the aircraft or because I was in the upper deck, this was the smoothest takeoff I had every experienced. It had none of the roller coaster feel to it but rather a smooth, luxury car takeoff.
Shortly after the takeoff we were given the lunch menu and wine list.
First up was the salmon and brie. I don’t care for zucchini so picked apart the salmon and the cheese.
The tuna felt a little wet which I don’t care much for. The salad was tasty with hint of lemon and vinaigrette.
I usually never order clam chowder at a restaurant as it is not one of my favorite soups. But I was amazed at how good it was prepared here. It had lots of clam chunks and the gravy was delicious.
The cod was very tasty !!
After lunch I decided to watch a movie. The AVOD had a decent collection. I ended up watching Ice Age 4: Continental Drift and The Campaign. Then I took a short nap.
The seat in full recline mode doesn’t become 180 degrees but close enough. I could stretch my leg all the way and wondered “How the hell am I ever gonna be able to fly coach again? “.
After a short nap, the crew woke me up for dinner. They did not hand over any menu (hence no picture here) but rather had us pick out what we wanted. For appetizer, they served Prosciutto which was very good.
For the main course I chose Roasted Chicken breast (sorry no picture). It was very fatty and oily.
Since I didn’t like the main course, I eagerly awaited the dessert (always my favorite!!). It was fruit tart with Mango, Blueberry and Strawberry over custard in a pie crust. Definitely made up for the yucky chicken.
Return Flight (ICN – LAX):
Since this was an evening flight, we were offered champagne for pre-departure beverage. Right after takeoff they gave us the dinner menu.
The stuffed eggplant was delicious. Whiskey sour, not so much. I should just stop drinking whiskey altogether. 🙂
The abalone was cold and rubbery. Not my favorite thing.
The soup was bland. I wish they served that delicious clam chowder again from the outbound flight.
The chicken was disappointing to say the least. There was no cheese in it and the only vegetable stuffing was spinach. Maybe I should avoid ordering chicken in Asiana as this was two in a row in this sector where the main entree sucked !!
The cheese plate gave me some satisfaction after the disaster of an entree.
mmmmm….chocolate !! It was good.
After dinner, I put the seat in full recline and had a great night’s sleep. Sorry I didn’t take any pictures of the bed in stretched out position. My husband gets mad whenever I miss such opportunities to take pictures (:rolleyes).
I slept through the morning breakfast service. I ended up having only yogurt. Pretty soon we were ready to land in LAX.
Bottomline:
Seat: ****
Service: *****
Food: **1/2
The exceptional service from Asiana crew was the best part of both the flights (it sure wasn’t the food!!). I never had to wait for anything and I felt special when they carried my baggage up the stairs for me. They would come by again and again asking for anything we wanted.
The seat was long enough for me although I would have preferred if it was fully flat (first world problems !!).
All in all, a great first business class experience.