Korean Air 787-9 Prestige Class

[Mattg]

The air route between Jeju and Seoul in South Korea is the world's busiest, and yesterday I flew it with Korean Air in Business class. The one-hour flight from Jeju to Seoul was on one of Korean's new Boeing 787-9 aircraft with suites in Business (or as Korean Air calls it, "Prestige Class").

At the time of booking, this flight was supposed to be on a 747. With so many passengers flying on this route, Korean Air has many daily 747 flights between the two cities. But my particular flight had a last-minute aircraft change to a 787.



Flight info
KE1210 Jeju - Seoul (Gimpo)
Boeing 787-9
Departure time: 10:10
Arrival time: 11:20


Korean Air has its own lounge at Jeju Airport located prior to the security checkpoint. It's a pretty basic affair, with lots of seats crammed into a small space. A few snacks were available, as well as tea, coffee and a selection of cold drinks.





The aircraft operating my flight appeared to be brand new, and the Business class hard product was excellent. Clearly this aircraft is designed for long-haul flights.

Here's the seat:

 

[Mattg]

The seat could be reclined into a fully lie-flat bed. Storage space around the seat was somewhat lacking, but there was a storage compartment below the TV screen.



There was a moveable divider between the window and aisle seats.

In-seat power and in-flight entertainment were both provided, although I never made it past the "welcome" screen on my TV. I suspect they just didn't bother switching on the in-flight entertainment system for such a short flight.

Although Business class has a 2-2-2 configuration, the seats are staggered such that all passengers have direct aisle access. There was a small gap between my window seat and the front of the neighbouring seat.





In addition to 18 Business seats, this plane had six First class seats in a separate cabin. Interestingly, the First class seats appeared to be identical in design to the Business class seats. As First class was not being sold on this flight, Business passengers were seated in these seats.

In terms of the soft product, the flight attendants were all courteous and friendly.

The only slight let-down was that there was no real "meal service" on this flight. Shortly after take-off I was offered a choice of non-alcoholic drink.



I was offered another drink later in the flight, but that's as far as the catering went. Obviously a full meal service is not necessary on a 1-hour flight. But something to eat (even just a bag of nuts) would have been nice.

As with most Korean domestic flights, we arrived at Gimpo Airport in Seoul (not Incheon) which is closer to the city.

Approaching Gimpo Airport:



Overall, this was a very pleasant flight. I'd be happy to fly the Korean Air 787 again, and I've no doubt this would be a good product even on a long-haul flight.

 

[kermatu]

I have seen some reports that the F and J hard and soft products are barely distinguishable on Korean Air's newer products -- so no surprise.

Agree pretty poor that J gets no food at all. Admittedly over 20 years ago, but on a budget flight in Y from Goa to Bombay I received a box of hot tandoori chicken, prawns, samosa, pakoras and a rice cake, all for a 65 minute flight. Better than most J meals I've had since.

 

[boomy]

Thanks for the report. Hard product in J looks great.
Will keep in mind to book F only on A380 if and when...