aflyingkiwi From New Zealand, joined Nov 2010, 488 posts, RR: 3 Posted (2 years 5 months 2 days 1 hour ago) and read 21066 times:
A Trip Of A Lifetime To Europe, ICN-LHR on KE
Hi and welcome to my second trip report about my travels to Europe. For those of you who want to read the background or just want to reread my first trip report. Here is the link
We were now in the arrivals hall at ICN airport and the first thing we needed to do was go over to a Korean Air desk to ask about our complimentary transit which includes a free hotel room plus meals at the Hyatt Regency Incheon Hotel.
When we got to the desk, the helpful lady informed us that we should go over to see a man who was doing the transit duties for KE. I moved over to the man who promptly gave us a KAL Transit Passenger sticker and our Hotel Vouchers and Meal Vouchers for Dinner & Breakfast which would be at the hotel & a Lunch voucher to be used at ICN Airport. The man also mentioned the shuttle would come in approximately 10 minutes.
In the meantime I bought some cheap Korean drinks and in no time we were on the shuttle which took about 3 minutes. Check in was quick & painless and we were soon in our room.
Legroom in Shuttle
The two comfortable beds
Work Desk
Bathroom
All in all, the room served its purpose very well and it’s definitely a notch above the standard airport hotel. The beds were comfortable and the complimentary bottles of water were a nice touch. There are all the amenities you would need plus some nice extras that you wouldn’t necessarily need (Pool, Casino) at the hotel and I had a very pleasant stay at the Hyatt.
Anyway after a quick shower it was time to have our complimentary dinner. When we arrived we were directed to a separate area of the dining room and asked if we would like either Korean or Italian. We choose Italian and I was surprised when the waiter didn’t give us a menu and just gave us an appetizer.
It ended up being that their were no choices available and we just had to eat what was put in front of us. The meal included an appetizer, which consisted of a simple green salad, a main which was Rotini (Spiral) pasta with tomato sauce and a tiramisu for desert. Drinks were also included.
I would say the meal was average. The salad was good though you can’t really get a salad wrong but the pasta just had a boring, bland taste. The pick of the bunch though was the tiramisu which was simply delicious
I was highly disappointed about this dinner service, The food was ok but the lack of a menu left a bitter taste in my mouth. I think it would be perfect if they decided to just make a small menu say 5 appetizers, 5 mains & 3 desserts. I apologise for the lack of pictures but I simply forgot to bring my camera down.
Anyway it was time to head back to our room and doze off in bed.
Sunday 16.09.2010
No need to wake up early as the flight’s doesn’t leave till 13.25 so at about 08.30 I made my way down to breakfast. I was preparing myself for another lack of choices meal but was pleasantly surprised when we got ushered to the breakfast buffet.
I definitely can’t fault about a lack of choices this time around as It was probably the largest breakfast buffet I’ve ever seen. I don’t think there was a single breakfast food that wasn’t available.
Anyway after getting stuffed with all the food we decided to have a walk around the neighbourhood which pretty much consists of Hotels.
Hotel Corridor
Stepping Stones
Our Hotel
Hotel Lobby
After our short walk it was about time for us to go to ICN Airport. We quickly packed our bags and went down to the lobby to wait for our shuttle. The Shuttle came shortly after and whisked us and quite a few Korean Air FA’s to ICN Airport.
One last look at our Hotel.
A modern sculpture that sort of looks like a Zeppelin.
Foliage on Concrete Pillars, Maybe the next green idea?
Our Shuttle Bus (Sorry, this is the best photo I have)
Date: September 16 2010 Routing: Seoul/Incheon (ICN) to London Heathrow (LHR) Fli No: KE 907 Timings (actual): 1325-1715 (1345-1735) Pushback: 1345 Rotate: 1358 Flying Time (actual): 11hrs 55mins (11hrs 55mins) Seat: 56H Type: Boeing 747-400 Reg: HL7495
Check-In & Observation Deck
As we already had our Boarding Passes which we got at AKL, we just needed to drop off our bags. The Bag Drop counter was empty and within five minutes we were on our way to the observation deck.
Before the trip I had a look at their website and apparently they had an observation deck on the 4th floor in a place called the AIRSTAR Terrace. Well I made our way up there and all there was, was a sheet of dirty glass in a place where there isn’t really that much traffic. You can get just as good if not better views from the windows airside.
Nose Shot of HL8210 (B77W)
HL8210 Pushing Back (Sorry about the Dirty Glass)
HL7553 (A333) Taxiing
After the outing at the observation deck, we decided to use our lunch voucher. There were only 2 restaurants that you could use it at and really should’ve been called a snack voucher. All that was offered were little sandwiches or filled buns and it wasn’t really a culinary delight. I guess it’s acceptable because Lunch is offered on the flight but they really shouldn’t mislead passengers and all it takes is to replace the word lunch with snack on the voucher.
Transportation Center
After our Snack or Lunch if your KE, I wanted to have a look at the futuristic looking Transportation Center. The main purpose of the Transportation Center is being the terminus of the Airport Railroad but it’s drastically oversized and it’s quite a nice place to have a walk.
Another thing they have in the Transportation Center is a Botanical Garden, which is pretty cool.
Gardens
Exterior of Transportation Center with the futuristic Pod at the top.
After the walk around the gardens, I noticed that there were hundreds of people walking somewhere and judging by the TV Camera’s, It looked like they were filming an ad/movie. I decided to take this as a cue to leave so I made my way back to the terminal.
Landside, Security & Airside
It was getting closer to our scheduled boarding time so we decided to go through Security. In true 5 Star fashion, Immigration & Security was very quick and we were soon out into the Airside Area and were surrounded with many high-end shops.
I have to say I was impressed by the cleanliness and how easy it is to get around the airport. I’ll do a proper review of ICN Airport in the TR of the return leg as it was nearly time for boarding and I didn’t really get a good look around the airside area of the airport.
Landside.
Airside (Sorry about poor quality)
Anyway I found a seat near our gate and had a look at the planes and within 10 minutes boarding began
LH A343
OZ A321
Here’s the plane that’s taking me to LHR
Nose Shot
As you may have seen, the aircraft that’s taking us to London is HL7495. It is one of 17 747-400’s in KE fleet and it’s currently 14.8 years old.
I have to say that there is something about the 747 that will never get overtaken by the A380. The 747 looks so much more graceful than the A380 and the achievements that the Queen of the Skies have done over the years will never get surpassed by any aircraft.
Boarding
Boarding started firstly for Premium Passengers but soon enough it was our turn to get in line and board the plane. We were greeted once again by smiling FA’s at the door and made our way down to the back of the plane. My seat for this flight would be 56H, which is the last row on the plane. This is also where the seating arrangement changes to 2-4-2, which would be convenient for me as I was travelling with my father.
When I sat down, the one thing I noticed immediately was that there was a massive IFE Box covering most of the seat. I could put my feet to the side but that’s not a really comfortable position so it did turn out to be a bit of a nuisance during the flight
IFE Box
Legroom is 34 inches.
Tail Shot
A Worker taking a break from the stifling heat under the wing’s shade
We were all set to go when the PA system crackled into action. You could hardly understand it due to the lack of volume but I heard 20-minute delay and ATC over China so I assumed that meant we missed our slot or something.
The captain ended up being right and 20 minutes later pushback commenced. The taxi took a while considering our gate was the closest to the runway but we were eventually off into the sky with a nice powerful 747 takeoff.
Load for this flight was good, probably in excess of 95%. There were also quite a few people I recognised from the AKL flight.
The Impressive Terminal
Start of Runway
Islands Surrounding ICN Airport
Clearly avoiding North Korean Airspace.
Once the Initial ascent had finished the sky started to cloud up so I just decided to watch a movie on the PTV. I’ve already done a Review of KE’s IFE in the first TR (Link at the top) but basically it’s a good touchscreen system that kept me entertained on my flights with KE.
About one hour into the flight, the meal service began, Like on the first flight Honey Roasted Peanuts were given out first than the main meal service began.
The choices were either Beef with Vegetables or Korean Pork. I opted for the beef. The meal also included a salad with tomatoes, a bun & some sort of Orange cake. The main was nice & tasty especially the beef which tasted delicious. The salad was also pretty good though the Cake was a bit of a letdown. Firstly it tasted funny and also the cake was hard so it was quite tough to eat. Overall though, the meal was good. Tea & Coffee were offered shortly after the meals were distributed.
The meal
The meal trays were cleared pretty quickly and the lights were dimmed shortly afterwards. At that time it was a whiteout outside but about 15 minutes later we were treated with views of Mongolia.
Whiteout
And now sunshine
Over Mongolia
After the first meal service not that much happened and I mostly just rested while watching a couple of movies. Immigration Cards were handed out and the cabin crew occasionally came down the aisles checking that everything was all right.
Shots
This is Lake Baikal, The oldest & deepest lake in the world.
About halfway through the flight, I was surprised when an FA came around a snack basket. This didn’t happen on the AKL-ICN flight, which is technically longer. In the basket there was an assortment of biscuits, chips and onigiri. I choose the onigiri which for those of you who don’t know, It is a Japanese Rice Triangle with some sort of filling inside. The onigiri was pretty good and it was nice to have a mid-flight snack. A water/juice run happened shortly after.
Over the Ural Mountains
Contents of Seat Pocket
About 2 Hours before we were scheduled to land, dinner service began. Hot towels were given out first then the main meal which was a choice between Bimimbap or Pasta. As I had eaten Bimimbap on the AKL-ICN flight, I choose the pasta. The main dish included chicken & an assortment of Vegetables & the sides included a Bun, a Celery Salad with tomato and Melon.
The main course was good, The pasta and the chicken were both cooked to perfection and they complimented each other very well but the vegetables weren't very good. The salad was all right while the melon was pretty tasteless and Ice cold but I’m not really a fan of Melon.
After the meal service, I read my book, went to the loo and before you knew it you could see the coast of England coming by.
I believe this is somewhere in Sweden
Bad Cabin Shot
Coast of England
Wind Turbines
Coast of England again
The town of Witham
The M25-M11 Junction.
When I had selected my seats for this flight, I had specifically chosen the right side of the aircraft knowing that that side usually provides good views of Central London. I was delighted when these views came into fruition though unfortunately the Sun ruined any shots of the City of London but I was able to get good shots of the Westminster Region.
This is meant to be the City of London
London Eye
Houses of Parliament & Hyde Park
You can see Horse Guards Parade (The Brown Square) and Trafalgar Square (at the top right)
One more shot.
Overview of London.
Stamford Bridge, Home of Chelsea F.C
On Final Approach we passed the usual array of British Townhouses and landed on Runway 27L. We then taxied to Terminal 4 where I would first set foot on British soil.
Touchdown
Next Door to a CI A343
London Heathrow Airport
I gathered my belongings, thanked the crew for the nice flight and made my way through the jet bridge to LHR Terminal 4. I first thoughts of the terminal was that it was cramped but Customs & Immigration was quick & painless and our baggage didn’t take too long so really the arrivals experience wasn’t too bad. I was soon out at landside and on the tube to our hotel.
Conclusion
So that Concludes my second trip report. Once again KE offered excellent service in the air & on the ground.
The transit was a little bit different and probably wouldn’t work with anybody on a tight schedule but for leisure passengers like us, It was perfect. There were a few things that they could improve upon but overall it was a nice, stressfree & comfortable break between flights. Also I don’t think that this type of transit would cost more than a usual transit as everything was provided for us(food, accommodation etc.) and the only place you’re likely to spend money at is at the airport which you would probably do anyway on a standard transit so Kudo’s to Korean Air for that.
As for the flight, KE excelled once again and they truly were a pleasure to fly with. The IFE, food & service were all excellent and the only thing that really bothered me on this flight was the IFE Box.
I hope that you enjoyed my TR and please feel free to comment and give any feedback.
777ORD From United States of America, joined May 2010, 355 posts, RR: 0 Reply 4, posted (2 years 5 months 1 day 15 hours ago) and read 19331 times:
excellent TR! I just flew KAL on FUK-ICN-ORD return in J. great detail and I agree, KAL has great service! And, their IFE is quite good in my experience!!!!
QFKangaroo747 From Australia, joined Nov 2004, 116 posts, RR: 0 Reply 6, posted (2 years 5 months 1 day 13 hours ago) and read 19063 times:
Great job on this one! I used to work as a travel agent and I remember that the KE overnight at ICN was very popular amongst our clients flying from Australia to Europe. In the office we used to refer to it as the 'KE STPC Procedure'.
eicvd From Ireland, joined Mar 2008, 2068 posts, RR: 5 Reply 7, posted (2 years 5 months 1 day 12 hours ago) and read 18979 times:
Hi aflyingkiwi
For only your second trip report that was excellent, really enjoyed the read & the photos were fantastic, especially from above London. Im very familiar with that area (spend hours in that park watching the LHR arrivals whenever im over there). Looking forward to your next report.
Dublin, where Sam Maguire will be coming home to in mid September
Quoting 777ORD (Reply 4): I just flew KAL on FUK-ICN-ORD return in J. great detail and I agree, KAL has great service! And, their IFE is quite good in my experience!!!!
Quoting QFKangaroo747 (Reply 6): used to work as a travel agent and I remember that the KE overnight at ICN was very popular amongst our clients flying from Australia to Europe. In the office we used to refer to it as the 'KE STPC Procedure'.
That's Interesting, I would think it would be a disadvantage for KE but It was nice to have a break between flights and it's something which I wouldn't mind doing again.
Hi eicvd
Quoting eicvd (Reply 7): For only your second trip report that was excellent, really enjoyed the read & the photos were fantastic
Thank you
Quoting eicvd (Reply 7): especially from above London. Im very familiar with that area (spend hours in that park watching the LHR arrivals whenever im over there).
I have to say I was pretty happy with the photos that I got of London
Palmjet From United Kingdom, joined Nov 2001, 1051 posts, RR: 16 Reply 9, posted (2 years 5 months 1 day 5 hours ago) and read 18175 times:
nice report a flyingkiwi. Looks like you had a pretty good flight here on KE. You were certainly lucky with the clear weather and being on the right side of the aircraft for such great views. I love coming back into London especially at night, as the views of London lit up at night are also spectacular. Hope you enjoyed your trip to the UK. Did you get any time for spotting at LHR or any of the other 4 airports in the London region? Are you posting a return report? Cheers P/jet
Sketty222 From United Kingdom, joined Mar 2006, 1772 posts, RR: 4 Reply 11, posted (2 years 5 months 1 day ago) and read 17724 times:
Excellent 1st and 2nd report. KE look to be ok, as I've heard both good and bad things about them. Hope you enjoyed your stay in Europe.
You cant beat that view of London though. I travel to London a few times a year (albeit domestic flights) and always look to see what runways are in use so i can try and get that view of London.
Quoting Sketty222 (Reply 11): You cant beat that view of London though. I travel to London a few times a year (albeit domestic flights) and always look to see what runways are in use so i can try and get that view of London.
The views of London were spectacular but there was a bit of luck involved, I was lucky to get that approach flying over Central London plus the weather was excellent.
PlaneHunter From Germany, joined Mar 2006, 6190 posts, RR: 79 Reply 14, posted (2 years 4 months 4 weeks 1 day 15 hours ago) and read 16533 times:
Hi aflyingkiwi,
another great report about KE, I had been waiting for this one. The product looks quite good, I would love to try KE. Unfortunately, it took a long time to load the pictures. Did you change anything after your last report?
Quoting aflyingkiwi (Thread starter): We were now in the arrivals hall at ICN airport and the first thing we needed to do was go over to a Korean Air desk to ask about our complimentary transit which includes a free hotel room plus meals at the Hyatt Regency Incheon Hotel.
Very impressive, definitely one more reason to choose KE.
Quoting aflyingkiwi (Thread starter): Before the trip I had a look at their website and apparently they had an observation deck on the 4th floor in a place called the AIRSTAR Terrace. Well I made our way up there and all there was, was a sheet of dirty glass in a place where there isn’t really that much traffic. You can get just as good if not better views from the windows airside.
Interesting, I didn't know that there is an observation deck.
Quoting aflyingkiwi (Thread starter): I have to say that there is something about the 747 that will never get overtaken by the A380. The 747 looks so much more graceful than the A380 and the achievements that the Queen of the Skies have done over the years will never get surpassed by any aircraft.
I would have agreed some time ago, but I have become a diehard fan of the A380. I totally changed my mind after this flight:
As for the looks - it really depends on the perspective.
Quoting aflyingkiwi (Thread starter): When I sat down, the one thing I noticed immediately was that there was a massive IFE Box covering most of the seat. I could put my feet to the side but that’s not a really comfortable position so it did turn out to be a bit of a nuisance during the flight
Quoting ronerone (Reply 13): I have always been intrigued by Korean Air, and it seems they are quite consistent in offering top service.
Yeah, on my 4 flights with them in Y they were extremely consistent and offered a good product. I have heard though that their J product can be a mixed bag in terms of seating (Sometimes you get lie-flat seats and other times you get Recliner seats with no PTV's)
You should, I believe they fly some fifth-freedom routes in Europe, I think VIE-ZRH is one and I'm pretty sure there's another one. Just a quick question, Have you ever been to Korea?
Quoting PlaneHunter (Reply 14): Unfortunately, it took a long time to load the pictures. Did you change anything after your last report?
Sorry about that , I did change my photo-sharing provider plus I did have quite a few more photo's in this report than the other one. I'll see what I can do to help this problem.
Quoting PlaneHunter (Reply 14): Interesting, I didn't know that there is an observation deck.
It's not really an observation deck, just a bit of glass where you can see a bit of taxiing traffic. If you go Airside there are plenty of spots to see planes, also at the edge of the terminal there is a place where you can see landing traffic which is a lot better than the observation deck.
NZ107 From New Zealand, joined Jul 2005, 5672 posts, RR: 40 Reply 16, posted (2 years 4 months 3 weeks 5 days 1 hour ago) and read 15026 times:
Hi aflyingkiwi,
Nice follow up to the first TR, thanks for sharing. Looks like you had a great time on KE. Meals look pretty good.
Quoting aflyingkiwi (Thread starter): We were now in the arrivals hall at ICN airport and the first thing we needed to do was go over to a Korean Air desk to ask about our complimentary transit which includes a free hotel room plus meals at the Hyatt Regency Incheon Hotel.
When we got to the desk, the helpful lady informed us that we should go over to see a man who was doing the transit duties for KE. I moved over to the man who promptly gave us a KAL Transit Passenger sticker and our Hotel Vouchers and Meal Vouchers for Dinner & Breakfast which would be at the hotel & a Lunch voucher to be used at ICN Airport. The man also mentioned the shuttle would come in approximately 10 minutes.
Not bad at all!
Quoting aflyingkiwi (Thread starter): It ended up being that their were no choices available and we just had to eat what was put in front of us
At least it was complimentary.. And saves you having to go out and get it too.
aflyingkiwi From New Zealand, joined Nov 2010, 488 posts, RR: 3 Reply 17, posted (2 years 4 months 3 weeks 4 days 18 hours ago) and read 14737 times:
Quoting NZ107 (Reply 16): Nice follow up to the first TR, thanks for sharing. Looks like you had a great time on KE. Meals look pretty good.
Thank you for reading my TR and I'm glad you enjoyed it .
Quoting NZ107 (Reply 16): At least it was complimentary.. And saves you having to go out and get it too.
Yeah it was complimentary and I give them credit for that but if they want to take the next step and become a top-notch airline, I think some little changes like this can be improved.
Ps76 From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 18, posted (2 years 4 months 3 weeks 3 days 7 hours ago) and read 14175 times:
Hello(!),
Just to say many thanks for the report and pics. Was nice to fly on Korean Air with you in writing and while it's a long flight it did look pretty relaxing. The food looked good too and you had some great shots of central London on approach to 27L.
aflyingkiwi From New Zealand, joined Nov 2010, 488 posts, RR: 3 Reply 19, posted (2 years 4 months 3 weeks 3 days 4 hours ago) and read 14065 times:
Hi ps76,
Quoting Ps76 (Reply 18): Just to say many thanks for the report and pics. Was nice to fly on Korean Air with you in writing and while it's a long flight it did look pretty relaxing.
Thanks for reading my TR, The flight didn't really feel like a 12 hour long-haul flight and it went by in a flash.
Quoting Ps76 (Reply 18): you had some great shots of central London on approach to 27L.
ba319-131 From United Kingdom, joined Jan 2001, 8263 posts, RR: 56 Reply 20, posted (2 years 4 months 3 weeks 2 days 5 hours ago) and read 13608 times:
Nice report and pictures, enjoyed and most useful info since I plan to fly KE next year, on the new A380.
Quoting aflyingkiwi (Thread starter): I had a look at their website and apparently they had an observation deck on the 4th floor in a place called the AIRSTAR Terrace. Well I made our way up there and all there was, was a sheet of dirty glass in a place where there isn’t really that much traffic. You can get just as good if not better views from the windows airside.
- Interesting news, not heard of this, from the pictures looks ok for reg spotting, despite the low traffic levels.
Quoting aflyingkiwi (Thread starter): When I sat down, the one thing I noticed immediately was that there was a massive IFE Box covering most of the seat. I could put my feet to the side but that’s not a really comfortable position so it did turn out to be a bit of a nuisance during the flight
aflyingkiwi From New Zealand, joined Nov 2010, 488 posts, RR: 3 Reply 21, posted (2 years 4 months 3 weeks 2 days 3 hours ago) and read 13507 times:
Hi Mark,
Quoting ba319-131 (Reply 20):
Nice report and pictures, enjoyed and most useful info since I plan to fly KE next year, on the new A380.
Thanks, That A380 trip looks interesting.
Quoting ba319-131 (Reply 20): Interesting news, not heard of this, from the pictures looks ok for reg spotting, despite the low traffic levels.
Well that place is very well hidden by the ICN Airport Authorities and it serves its purpose more as a coffee shop than an observation deck but it's ok for reg spotting. I'm pretty sure there are better spots out there if you do your research and if you happen to be airside there is a great spot to see landing traffic right at the edge of the terminal.
your KE series was very nice, i stopped by immediately for reading with pleasure as the title inspired me an identical trip done in 98 to visit my uncle living in Australia, using KE on similar aircrafts. Nevertheless at this time and because it was my birthday's gift, KE was far cheaper than any other carrier, but proportionally longer than other routes hence my huge surprise nowadays to discover someone who would endure roughly the 2*12h to Europe , for pleasure or for visiting Seoul?
the few detail i remember was the flight from SYD was leaving late evening, did you have this option too from AKL? otherwise the night hotel package is really interresting given the quality.
Quoting eastafspot (Reply 22): someone who would endure roughly the 2*12h to Europe
Well from AKL to Europe, most people do expect about 24 hours of flight time and this routing isn't really longer than other options to Europe. For example NZ's service to LHR via LAX involves 23 Hours of flight time and if you go via HKG it actually 25 Hours so from KE's service is not really longer than the average and even if it was, the more flying the better!
MSS658 From Belgium, joined Oct 2010, 2212 posts, RR: 14 Reply 24, posted (2 years 4 months 2 weeks 9 hours ago) and read 11721 times:
Hey
Nice to read a TR from KE. Would like to fly them one day myself.
Next trip report: b.transatlantic to the b.apple
25 wexfordflyer: You have hit the nail on the head here!! The A380 is an incredible aircraft and I cannot wait to get the opportunity to fly on it but in terms of bea
26 aflyingkiwi: Hi MSS658, Well if you want to fly KE, they have some fifth-freedom routes in Europe that may be worth taking. I think they're VIE-ZRH and AMS-MAD (or
27 akhmad: Hi aflyingkiwi, Excellent follow up of your trip to Europe. Really a delight to read. KE did a very good job to house her passengers with a long layov
28 AT: Great report. ICN seems like a new airport. I didn't realize that Beijing was the second largest airport terminal after Dubai Terminal 3. It looks hug
29 Aflyingkiwi: Hi Suryo, Thanks. Well it was edible but wasn't a terribly good dish. Thanks for those comments, for the LHR approach, google maps always helps. Hi AT
30 413X3: Cool shots and nice report, but I don't get why you like taking pictures of toilets?