MHTripple7 From United States of America, joined Feb 2008, 1050 posts, RR: 5 Posted (3 years 1 month 3 weeks 21 hours ago) and read 32767 times:
Introduction
There are several different routings one can take to get to Bangkok from TPA. Before booking with OZ, I looked at KE via ATL and ICN, EK via JFK and DXB, and the TG nonstop from LAX. However, when I was able to get a heavily discounted J fare with OZ, the other options were immediately ruled out. I ended up settling for DL on the TPA-LAX-TPA legs and OZ on the LAX-ICN-BKK-ICN-LAX legs. The connections worked out perfectly on the outbound trip, however, the return required a 12-hour layover in ICN and then a 10-hour layover in LAX. Despite the fact that KE offered far better connections for the same routing, the incredibly good fares Asiana was offering made the long layovers worthwhile.
Ticketing was done through American Express Travel, however, I wanted to test out OZ’s website anyway. OZ really seems to fall behind here, at least for the English version of their website. I was only able to change and pick my seat after joining OZ’s frequent flyer program, and the only way to view your reservation online is by joining their frequent flyer program. I believe this has since changed, however, and people can now view their reservation even if they are not a member of OZ’s FF program. Also, I was only able to pick my seat using Internet Explorer. Despite this, the online seat map does look pretty cool:
Connection in LAX
After arriving into LAX on an incredibly long and boring flight (5:45 on an A320 without ANY IFE whatsoever), I found myself in the dilapidated T6. I needed to get to TBIT where OZ and the majority of foreign airlines serving LAX operate from. From what I understand, the only way to transfer between terminals is by walking or taking a shuttle bus. I was in the mood for a nice stroll since it would be the only physical activity I would be getting in the next 20 hours or so. Plus, the fresh air (not) would be nice.
TBIT check-in areas seemed pretty nice, definitely much better than the post-security area of the terminal. The OZ check-in is located in the last row and there were Asiana signs all over the place.
Check-in was smooth, and the agent was friendly. We were given lounge invitations that were actually printed out on boarding-pass paper and had our names and flight number printed on it. Pretty nice.
Oddly enough, the scheduled boarding time was only 30 minutes prior to departure. I suppose a 744 Combi takes much less time than a fully pax 744…
I can’t say that I am a fan of the airside portion of TBIT; the ceilings are low and walkways are narrow. Instead of going to lounge, I walked to the gate first and took some pictures of various aircraft. One benefit of this terminal, however, is that it’s not too high from the ground and aircraft park EXTREMELY close to the windows. This really makes you appreciate how big 777s and 747s are!
Boeing 777-300ER to NRT
Our gate
Korean Air 77E to ICN
After enjoying myself in the cramped terminal, I decided to head up towards to the Star Alliance lounge. It’s on the 5th floor and was much nicer than I expected. They had a mini-buffet set up with chicken fried rice and some soup.
I saw our 744 taxiing into the gate from the lounge windows and decided to head on over to the gate and get some pictures of the aircraft. Sadly, there was absolutely no view of our 744 from the gate area and this was the best I could do:
Rivals at adjacent gates – I love it!
Korean Air KE 18 pushing back for ICN ahead of us
About 10 minutes prior to the scheduled boarding time, there was an announcement that the flight would be delayed 30 minutes due to “aircraft connection”. I had no clue what this meant so I asked the gate agent and he said that aircraft had just arrived late from Seoul.
Boarding occurred exactly when they said it would and I was delighted to see a window right after going through the door but before the jetway. Also, a side note: There was an old Asian woman who was clearly uncomfortable walking without her cane. The nice Asiana agent held her hand and walked her onto the plane, which I thought was very nice.
I boarded through door 2L, was greeted by two beautiful F/As, and went straight upstairs to the upper deck.
The Flight
Date: 14 March 2010 Airline: Asiana Airlines Flight: OZ 201 Aircraft: Boeing 747-48EM Aircraft Reg: HL7421 Departure Airport: Los Angeles (LAX / KLAX) Arrival Airport: Seoul – Incheon (ICN / RKSI) Scheduled Departure Time: 12:50 PM Actual Departure Time: 1:41 (51 minutes late) Scheduled Arrival Time: 6:10 PM (Next Day) Actual Arrival Time: 6:49 PM (39 minutes late) Departure Gate: 101 Class: Business Seat: 9J Load Factor: 100% in all classes
My initial impressions of the cabin were very positive. Seats looked good, felt comfortable, and it seemed as though the aircraft was recently built.
I really wanted to get a picture of F so I walked down there half expecting to get scolded for doing so. Instead, the F/A was ecstatic and even offered to take a picture of my dad and I in F!
Upper deck J
In our seats, there were slippers and headphones but no amenity kits (there were toothbrushes and cologne in the lavs). I was very surprised about this as I thought it was pretty standard to have amenity kits in J. Also, the headphones were very similar to those received in Y, and pillows were small and blankets were very Y-class.
The F/As then came around with welcome drinks (water, OJ, or champagne), and handed out hot towels to clean our hands with.
The captain came over the PA and announced that there would be further delay as they were having trouble loading cargo onto the aircraft.
Cabin ready for departure
The safety demo was shown on the PTVs, and then a manners (!) video was shown. It was an animated video of a kid running around the plane pissing people off, and encouraged passengers to have “beautiful manners”. I can’t imagine this being shown on a U.S. carrier.
F/As were then introduced over the PA and each bowed as they were introduced. Then, the head F/A came to each J passenger, addressed them by name, and thanked them for flying Asiana. Excellent! We were then handed menus.
Pushback occurred about 50 minutes late and during taxi, the F/As asked for our lunch choice and took the menus back, which I found a little strange. Anyway, we taxied to 25R and performed quite a long takeoff roll.
The seatbelt sign was turned off right at 10,000 feet and I began to explore the IFE. Unfortunately, there was an annoying glare on the screen that made watching movies with the window shades up very difficult.
The moving map was very detailed, and appeared to show shipwreck locations which was very strange.
California coast
Meal service began about 45 minutes after takeoff.
Scallops
Appetizer: Cold beef and fish
Tenderloin of beef
Dessert
The food was extremely good, definitely one of the best meals I’ve had on an aircraft.
I then watched Surrogates on Asiana’s AVOD and enjoyed the moving map feature.
Pretty cool
I was feeling pretty tired so I feel asleep for about two hours. When I woke up, I watched another movie, and was then feeling hungry. The menu mentioned that ramen noodles were available on demand throughout the flight, so I decided to take advantage of this option. I went to galley and the extremely friendly F/A was more than happy to prepare this for me.
Nicest looking cup noodles I’ve ever seen
After passing the "top" of our route
Snack was served about 2 hours before arrival. It wasn’t as good as the first meal, but still tasty nonetheless.
Chicken breast
Getting close
I found the seat pretty comfortable but it was nowhere close to being lie-flat!
Asiana J seat in fully-reclined position
The captain announced our descent into ICN about 30 minutes before arrival, and apologized for the delay once again. The head F/A came around thanking each passenger individually for flying Asiana and told us it was a pleasure serving us. Then, a F/A gave me a survey to fill out, which I gladly did. Landing on 16L was smooth, taxiing to the gate took about 10 minutes, and disembarkation was painless.
I then went through security and back to the departure area for my flight to BKK.
Overall I was very pleased with Asiana. The crew was exceptional, food was great, IFE was fantastic, and seats were comfortable. Not having amenity kits in J is unacceptable, however, along with the cheap headsets. Overall, however, the pluses far outweighed the negatives, therefore making this an exceptional long-haul flight.
HL7421 at the gate after a long flight from LAX
Here is some video footage I took on this flight for anyone interested. Includes views of moving map during flight, and the landing.
Hope you enjoyed the read, and here are some of my previous TRs:
SASDC8 From Norway, joined Mar 2006, 660 posts, RR: 1 Reply 2, posted (3 years 1 month 3 weeks 18 hours ago) and read 32767 times:
Thanks for a nice report on OZ "new" business class product
I must say that i think the cabin looks really good, and the F cabin fantastic. OZ should also have thumbs up for presentation of their meal service
Quoting MHTripple7 (Thread starter): In our seats, there were slippers and headphones but no amenity kits (there were toothbrushes and cologne in the lavs).
I am not a big fan of the "buffet" like spread in the toliet. Amenity kits should be in your seat in international business class.
Quoting MHTripple7 (Thread starter): Unfortunately, there was an annoying glare on the screen that made watching movies with the window shades up very difficult.
This is one of the problems with most "new" business class seats with fixed screens on the seatbacks. Annoying not to be able to tilt screen inwards to avoid glare.
MHTripple7 From United States of America, joined Feb 2008, 1050 posts, RR: 5 Reply 5, posted (3 years 1 month 3 weeks 14 hours ago) and read 32767 times:
Quoting SASDC8 (Reply 2): I must say that i think the cabin looks really good, and the F cabin fantastic. OZ should also have thumbs up for presentation of their meal service
Yes, I completely agree on all of these. I definitely wouldn't mind trying them out in F!
Quoting greg99 (Reply 3): This is not uncommon in J on Asian carriers - SQ and NH do the same.
Oh interesting, I didn't know this. The weird thing is that we did receive amenity kits on the return flight. So does anyone know if was just a random occurrence that I didn't receive amenity kits on this flight or do certain flights get them and others not?
Quoting nethkt (Reply 4): So all the OZ 74Es are modified and installed with new products?
Not quite. There is still one 74E flying around (HL7417) that hasn't been refurbished. They were supposed to convert it to a cargo aircraft but have yet to do it for some reason. This aircraft is confined to ICN-HKG-ICN, however, unless another 744 goes tech.
B747forever From United States of America, joined May 2007, 16574 posts, RR: 11 Reply 6, posted (3 years 1 month 3 weeks 7 hours ago) and read 32767 times:
Good TR
Really enjoyed to read it.
Asiana's J product looks nice.
Quoting MHTripple7 (Thread starter): The safety demo was shown on the PTVs, and then a manners (!) video was shown. It was an animated video of a kid running around the plane pissing people off, and encouraged passengers to have “beautiful manners”. I can’t imagine this being shown on a U.S. carrier.
PlaneHunter From Germany, joined Mar 2006, 6183 posts, RR: 79 Reply 7, posted (3 years 1 month 3 weeks 6 hours ago) and read 32767 times:
Hi MHTripple7,
great report with many high-quality pictures, very enjoyable. OZ's product doesn't look bad despite some weaknesses. The food looks delicious.
Quoting MHTripple7 (Thread starter):
I really wanted to get a picture of F so I walked down there half expecting to get scolded for doing so. Instead, the F/A was ecstatic and even offered to take a picture of my dad and I in F!
Nice!
Quoting MHTripple7 (Thread starter): In our seats, there were slippers and headphones but no amenity kits (there were toothbrushes and cologne in the lavs). I was very surprised about this as I thought it was pretty standard to have amenity kits in J. Also, the headphones were very similar to those received in Y, and pillows were small and blankets were very Y-class.
Indeed, quite disappointing. Here's what I got on a 5:40 hrs flight in Oman Air's Y Class:
Quoting MHTripple7 (Thread starter): Then, the head F/A came to each J passenger, addressed them by name, and thanked them for flying Asiana. Excellent!
jetblue777 From United States of America, joined Jul 2009, 1427 posts, RR: 1 Reply 8, posted (3 years 1 month 3 weeks 1 hour ago) and read 32767 times:
Nice report! I tried to select seats on OZ's website (I am a member) but somehow it won't let me. We booked our flights through expedia,and expedia did give us seats. I wanted to change those seats but again, OZ's website wont let me. Anyway, love your trip report
MHTripple7 From United States of America, joined Feb 2008, 1050 posts, RR: 5 Reply 9, posted (3 years 1 month 2 weeks 6 days ago) and read 32767 times:
Thanks for your kind comments everyone.
Quoting B747forever (Reply 6): Will you write any TR on the other flights?
I have a few trip reports written up, and will hopefully have some of them up this weekend. I decided to do one on the return trip since it was on a 777 (my favorite aircraft).
Quoting PlaneHunter (Reply 7): great report with many high-quality pictures, very enjoyable. OZ's product doesn't look bad despite some weaknesses. The food looks delicious.
Many thanks and yes those are my exact thoughts.
Quoting PlaneHunter (Reply 7): Indeed, quite disappointing. Here's what I got on a 5:40 hrs flight in Oman Air's Y Class:
I am quite envious of your flight! How an alleged 3-star airline provides better amenities in Y class than a 5-star airline does in J class is beyond me!
Indeed, however, this practice was not repeated on any other of my OZ flights. My return trip was quite different in terms of service. I'll go into more detail when I post the TR.
Quoting jetblue777 (Reply 8): Nice report! I tried to select seats on OZ's website (I am a member) but somehow it won't let me. We booked our flights through expedia,and expedia did give us seats. I wanted to change those seats but again, OZ's website wont let me. Anyway, love your trip report
Make sure you are using Internet Explorer. I was unable to change my seats using Chrome or Firefox. Their animated seat maps are extremely obnoxious. But I can confirm that if you can get it to work, they will honor your seat requests.
HOOB747 From United States of America, joined Nov 2006, 420 posts, RR: 0 Reply 10, posted (3 years 1 month 2 weeks 5 days 3 hours ago) and read 32182 times:
Thanks so much for an informative trip report about a great airline! It looks like you had a wonderful flight, and it is comforting to know that service is something that is taken seriously at Asiana. The cabin of that big, beautiful 747 looks sharp and clean, and a pleasure to the eye. And my goodness, the food looked amazing, especially your initial meal. I would book the flight for that reason alone (ha). Well, for the plane too. Thanks for taking such great photos and sharing your love of aviation!
je89_w From United States of America, joined Mar 2002, 2327 posts, RR: 10 Reply 11, posted (3 years 1 month 2 weeks 5 days 2 hours ago) and read 31962 times:
AIRLINERS.NET CREW PHOTO SCREENER
Very nice trip report! The new seats look nice. I happened to be at Imperial Hill that day and have photos of your aircraft departing runway 25R at LAX. Will upload them later.
airbuseric From Netherlands, joined Jan 2005, 4015 posts, RR: 52 Reply 12, posted (3 years 1 month 2 weeks 4 days 9 hours ago) and read 31279 times:
Hi,
nice report on OZ. Good seats, normal layout. I like it.
Meal look fine also, and that 'on demand' menu is e.g. also offered by JL. Does it only offer noodles? Or also sandwiches, rice dishes etc? Only noodles would be a bit standard and not enough for C-class. Presentation is good though!
So would OZ be better then KE in C?
Regards,
Eric
"The whole world steps aside for the man who knows where he is going"
MHTripple7 From United States of America, joined Feb 2008, 1050 posts, RR: 5 Reply 13, posted (3 years 1 month 2 weeks 3 days 11 hours ago) and read 30408 times:
Quoting HOOB747 (Reply 10): Thanks so much for an informative trip report about a great airline! It looks like you had a wonderful flight, and it is comforting to know that service is something that is taken seriously at Asiana. The cabin of that big, beautiful 747 looks sharp and clean, and a pleasure to the eye. And my goodness, the food looked amazing, especially your initial meal. I would book the flight for that reason alone (ha). Well, for the plane too. Thanks for taking such great photos and sharing your love of aviation!
Thanks, HOOB747! The food and the service was definitely the highlight of the trip, truly amazing.
Quoting je89_w (Reply 11): Very nice trip report! The new seats look nice. I happened to be at Imperial Hill that day and have photos of your aircraft departing runway 25R at LAX. Will upload them later.
Thanks, je89. And wow, that's so cool! Can't wait to see the photos.
Quoting airbuseric (Reply 12): nice report on OZ. Good seats, normal layout. I like it.
Meal look fine also, and that 'on demand' menu is e.g. also offered by JL. Does it only offer noodles? Or also sandwiches, rice dishes etc? Only noodles would be a bit standard and not enough for C-class. Presentation is good though!
So would OZ be better then KE in C?
Thanks, airbuseric. The on-demand menu consisted of both noodles and sandwiches. I don't recall rice dishes being offered, but I'm not 100% sure. Sadly, I can't check because we weren't allowed to keep the menus after ordering. I'm not sure which is better since I haven't traveled on KE, but from what I heard the service is probably better on OZ, while KE has nicer J seats.
ORDnHKG From United States of America, joined Jul 2009, 185 posts, RR: 0 Reply 15, posted (3 years 1 month 2 weeks 2 days 21 hours ago) and read 29514 times:
Quoting SASDC8 (Reply 2): Amenity kits should be in your seat in international business class.
Incorrect, if you have never flown on this flight, or any other long haul OZ flights in C, don't make a comment like that, as OZ hasn't pass out amenity kit in C for any long haul flights inbound into ICN at least for the past 5 years.
Quoting MHTripple7 (Reply 5): The weird thing is that we did receive amenity kits on the return flight. So does anyone know if was just a random occurrence that I didn't receive amenity kits on this flight or do certain flights get them and others not?
It was not random, this is actually a rule set by OZ, only long haul flights out of ICN would provide an amenity kit in C. I know for sure as I actually asked an OZ purser about it, her reasoning is due to economy downturn, but as far as I know, even before OZ rebrand itself several years ago, when the economy was better, they used to not giving out amenity kits in C at all, F however always have the kit.
People praised about OZ F service, not C, as OZ long haul F has PJ, Bvlgari amenity kits, also Versace Rosenthal "thank you gift" at the end of the flight.
MHTripple7 From United States of America, joined Feb 2008, 1050 posts, RR: 5 Reply 16, posted (3 years 1 month 2 weeks 1 day 11 hours ago) and read 28775 times:
Quoting ba319-131 (Reply 14): Nice report and pictures, thanks for sharing.
Thanks, Mark!
Quoting ba319-131 (Reply 14): Food looks good, seems with the snacks avail you'll not go hungry.
Indeed, the food along with the crew was the highlight of my OZ experience.
Quoting ba319-131 (Reply 14): Interesting comment about the lack of ammenity kit, I pretty much assumed OZ would provide these on a flight of this length.
I agree.
Quoting ORDnHKG (Reply 15): It was not random, this is actually a rule set by OZ, only long haul flights out of ICN would provide an amenity kit in C.
Can't say I'm a fan of this... It's makes the airline seem inconsistent.
akhmad From Netherlands, joined Sep 2005, 2325 posts, RR: 53 Reply 17, posted (3 years 1 month 2 weeks 1 day 6 hours ago) and read 28424 times:
Hi MHTripple7,
Nice TR of OZ. It looks like your experience with the flight attendants has justified their 5 star ranking. The food looks delicious and well presented, I assume that OZ had the Korean option on offer as well.
Quoting MHTripple7 (Thread starter): Instead, the F/A was ecstatic and even offered to take a picture of my dad and I in F!
That's more I like it.
About the missing amenity kits, I wondered whether they just forgot to load it into the aircraft.
ORDnHKG From United States of America, joined Jul 2009, 185 posts, RR: 0 Reply 18, posted (3 years 1 month 2 weeks 19 hours ago) and read 27989 times:
Quoting akhmad (Reply 17): About the missing amenity kits, I wondered whether they just forgot to load it into the aircraft
Read my post above, it is not about they forgot the load the amenity kit, it is they don't give out amenity kits in C for flights fly into ICN. Only outbound from ICN has it.
Quoting MHTripple7 (Reply 16): Can't say I'm a fan of this... It's makes the airline seem inconsistent.
Palmjet From United Kingdom, joined Nov 2001, 1050 posts, RR: 20 Reply 19, posted (3 years 1 month 2 weeks 12 hours ago) and read 27734 times:
thanks for your great report and pics.
Given that many passengers have no interest or idea what airline they are flying these days, seems odd that LAX would have two flights on two competing airlines going to the same destination boarding at the same time at adjacent gates? A recipe for frustration for ground staff with passengers trying to board the wrong flights? i guess there is some rationale for this?
Fauzi From Brunei, joined Jul 2005, 199 posts, RR: 0 Reply 20, posted (3 years 1 month 2 weeks 11 hours ago) and read 27644 times:
Nice TR! Makes me want to fly with OZ soon!
Quoting greg99 (Reply 3): Quoting MHTripple7 (Thread starter):
Not having amenity kits in J is unacceptable, however
This is not uncommon in J on Asian carriers - SQ and NH do the same.
I thought I got one when I flew with SQ a few years ago. I know BI gives those cheap looking amenity kits, so that counts.
Quoting MHTripple7 (Thread starter): My initial impressions of the cabin were very positive. Seats looked good, felt comfortable, and it seemed as though the aircraft was recently built.
I must say the cabin looks really nice and inviting. Did you have any problems with the lie-flat seats? I tend to slip down when I try to sleep on lie-flats.
Quoting MHTripple7 (Thread starter): F/As were then introduced over the PA and each bowed as they were introduced. Then, the head F/A came to each J passenger, addressed them by name, and thanked them for flying Asiana. Excellent! We were then handed menus.
I've never encountered an airline where they greet each and one of the passengers. Really nice touch!
MHTripple7 From United States of America, joined Feb 2008, 1050 posts, RR: 5 Reply 21, posted (3 years 1 month 1 week 4 days 23 hours ago) and read 26780 times:
Quoting akhmad (Reply 17): Nice TR of OZ. It looks like your experience with the flight attendants has justified their 5 star ranking. The food looks delicious and well presented, I assume that OZ had the Korean option on offer as well.
Thanks again akhmad! I agree, the flight was indeed a 5 star flight IMO. And yes, a Korean option was offered as well. I was able to sample it on my next flight (ICN-BKK), which I will be posting a TR on in the coming days.
Quoting ORDnHKG (Reply 18): Still better than SQ has no kits in C period.
Well then shame on SQ because so many "inferior" airlines have them.
Quoting Palmjet (Reply 19): thanks for your great report and pics.
Thank you Palmjet.
Quoting Palmjet (Reply 19): Given that many passengers have no interest or idea what airline they are flying these days, seems odd that LAX would have two flights on two competing airlines going to the same destination boarding at the same time at adjacent gates? A recipe for frustration for ground staff with passengers trying to board the wrong flights? i guess there is some rationale for this?
Well my whole family, who was well aware we flying Asiana, still attempted to walk through the Korean Air gate not understanding the possibility there could be another flight to ICN. I sat there laughing at them and I don't believe they were the only ones!
Quoting Fauzi (Reply 20): Nice TR! Makes me want to fly with OZ soon!
Thanks Fauzi, and yes it was great experience.
Quoting Fauzi (Reply 20): I must say the cabin looks really nice and inviting. Did you have any problems with the lie-flat seats? I tend to slip down when I try to sleep on lie-flats.
Well since it wasn't a true lie-flat seat, I didn't receive the sliding sensation I've received on flatter seats, which was nice now that I look back on it. I remember this being a problem in AF J.
Quoting Fauzi (Reply 20): I've never encountered an airline where they greet each and one of the passengers. Really nice touch!
Indeed, the service was impeccable to say the least.
abrelosojos From Venezuela, joined May 2005, 4915 posts, RR: 55 Reply 22, posted (3 years 1 month 1 week 2 days 8 hours ago) and read 25449 times:
Thanks for the great report. You know, I had your report on one tab and a booking engine on the other as I changed my ICN-NRT-JFK-MIA return to ICN-FRA-CCS ... though, I should have read a little bit more carefully before making the changes. LOL. While Asiana's "soft" product is stellar, I remain disappointed at the following comments:
Quoting MHTripple7 (Thread starter):
In our seats, there were slippers and headphones but no amenity kits (there were toothbrushes and cologne in the lavs). I was very surprised about this as I thought it was pretty standard to have amenity kits in J. Also, the headphones were very similar to those received in Y, and pillows were small and blankets were very Y-class.
= I got an amenity kit on less than 2 hour daytime flight from POA to EZE. Worse is that Asiana advertises having amenity kits on their J class ... http://us.flyasiana.com/Global/US/en/homepage?fid=INFO13120 ... very poor and false advertising?
Quoting MHTripple7 (Thread starter): I found the seat pretty comfortable but it was nowhere close to being lie-flat!
= God, they don't look good. I am an idiot to transfer my NH J to an ICN J I guess .
Thanks a lot for your report. Excellent work as usual!