The Return Leg From Europe, FCO-ICN-AKL on KE

This trip report will showcase the return leg from my trip to Europe on KE flying FCO-ICN-AKL. For anybody interested in reading my previous reports in this series, please just click the links.

A Trip Of A Lifetime To Europe, AKL-ICN On KE (by aflyingkiwi Dec 2 2010 in Trip Reports)
A Trip Of A Lifetime To Europe, ICN-LHR On KE (by aflyingkiwi Dec 21 2010 in Trip Reports)
Logging The 717! BCN-VCE On Spanair (by aflyingkiwi Jan 15 2011 in Trip Reports)

15 October 2010

Our flight wasn’t until 22.45 so that gave us plenty of time to have a last look at Rome. At about 18.30 we made our way to the station and about half an hour later we were at FCO.

Corridor linking Train Station with Airport


Outside FCO Airport


Check-in

Check-in hadn’t opened though a small queue had already started to form. I decided to have a quick look around but that turned out to be a mistake because by the time that I got back, the queue was massive and check-in still hadn’t started yet.

It took us about 40 minutes to get to the front of the queue during which there was an amusing moment when one of the check-in ladies asked a toddler to borrow her passport. She ended up giving her Vatican Museums ticket which caused the people around me to have a little chuckle.

Anyway, we got called up to the prestige class desk where everything went smoothly. We asked if we could check our bags all the way to AKL though she said we couldn’t mentioning we have a connection time over 24 hours (yep we have a 24 & a half hour connection).

She also mentioned that there would be a 20 minute delay and shortly after gave me my boarding pass.

FCO Airport Landside

Long Check-in Queue


Bare check-in area.


There was still about 3 hours till our flight would start boarding so it was more exploring time for me.



A bad picture of the apron from Mcdonalds where we had dinner


After dinner we decided to go Airside. Security and Immigration was quick & painless and we were soon Airside.

Before the trip, I had read some bad reviews about FCO but I didn’t really find it too bad. It is a bit dated and could be cleaner but apart from that everything was fine. Basically I found it to be a pretty functional airport.

Anyway, after our quick look at the shops we made our way to the shuttle train platform that would take us to the G gates where our flight would board.

Airside Shops


Shuttle Train


The G Gates are a satellite terminal, which was opened in 1999 thus making it a lot more modern than the rest of the terminal. I found it to be a nice little satellite terminal though unfortunately most of the shops were closed but it was getting quite late.

Satellite Terminal


Interesting architecture


Note closed shop


Here’s my boarding pass


Boarding
After our short walk around we found a seat and shortly after boarding started. As always people in premium classes were called first but it didn’t take too long till we I was able to get on.

As I walked down the jetway I was able to catch a glimpse of the registration, HL7495. As regular readers may know, I was instantly disappointed as this was the same plane that took me to LHR a month ago. I think the thing that made it worse was that there are 18 747-400’s in KE’s fleet so it was really bad luck that I got the same reg twice.

HL7495 is a 14.8 year old 747-400 and has only operated for Korean Air

Best Picture I have of the KE 744 which Came from MXP (oprating ICN-MXP-FCO-ICN triangle routing)


Date: October 15 2010
Routing: Rome Fiumicino(FCO) to Seoul/Incheon (ICN)
Fli No: KE 928
Timings (actual) : 2245-1640 (2258-1619)
Pushback: 2258
Rotate: 2307
Flying Time (actual) : 10hr 55mins (10hr 21mins)
Seat: 55J

Type: Boeing 747-400
Reg: HL7495

I made way down to 55J, which is a 2nd last row in the 747-400. It is also one of the rows affected by the fuselage tapering thus the configuation of 2-4-2

The first thing you notice when you sit on a window seat is the massive IFE box. It is partially made up by the 34 inches of pitch which is standard on all KE longhaul aircraft.

Big IFE Box! (photo taken later in-flight)


Good Legroom


It didn’t take too long for boarding to complete and after a short taxi we were off into the night sky.

Load for this flight was extremely full like all the other KE Flights on this trip. In excess of 95% I’d say, with most of them being Korean Tourists.

Airshow (Sorry about the blurriness), note the MXP-FCO sector of the Triangle route (ICN-MXP-FCO-ICN)


Amenity Kit


Blanket (photo taken later in-flight)


Cabin


About an hour into the flight meal service began. Firstly peanuts & juice were provided.


Then the main meal service started. The choice today was between Bimimbap (a Korean dish) or Chicken & Veges. Since I hadn’t eaten Asian food for a long time I choose Bimimbap which I had previously eaten on my first flight.

Here’s the Bimimbap (Pardon the mess)


Bimimbap is a Korean dish in which you mix rice, vegetables and meat plus you add some chilli paste. It’s a very nice dish which is a bit different from the standard airline meal. I definitely wouldn’t mind having it again

Sides included Seaweed soup, an overly sweet cake and pickles.

Anyway after the meal service the lights were dimmed and I decided to get some sleep. I was able to get a couple of hours (pretty good for me) before I woke up over Russia.

Over Romania after the meal service.


And now over Russia


Just beautiful


After waking up I decided to have a quick flick through the in-flight magazine. Korean Air’s magazine is called Morning Calm and is a high-quality magazine in my opinion.

Morning Calm & Beyond (IFE Guide)


Sky Shop (Duty Free), & Stickers.


Safety Card




With a couple of hours till meal service I decided to just watch a movie. I also wanted a drink so I pressed the call button, which was very quickly (and I mean very quickly) responded to and I got my desired lemonade in no time.

Above the Clouds


Some mountainous terrain (Sorry about the ice crystals)


Getting Closer to ICN


About 1 and a half hours before arrival we received our breakfast. The choices were between an Omelette or Korean Porridge. Since I’m not a porridge person I choose the Omelette.

Here’s the meal




The hot part of the meal consisted of a perfectly cooked Omelette and some mushrooms and potatoes, which was a perfect compliment to the egg. The croissant was also of a very high quality and wouldn’t be amiss in a Parisian bakery. My only criticism of the meal was the yogurt which was a bit too creamy and not particularly nice..

Overall though, this was probably my best meal on Korean Air so far.

During the meal I noticed that we would be overflying Peking and luckily I was able to see the Airport.

PEK, you can clearly see Terminal 3 on the bottom left which is currently the second largest terminal in the world (T3 at DXB is bigger).




Crew

As on all our flights with KE, the cabin crew were excellent. They always double-checked if everything was fine and they were always smiling & helpful.

One thing that I was really impressed about though was that during the flight there was an old lady across the aisle from me who spent most of the flight looking at the duty free magazine but she must of said something important because one moment she was looking at the duty-free magazine and when I saw her next, she was holding a glass of champagne with a card courtesy of the crew (I think it was a birthday card but I’m not 100% sure). Anyway this really impressed me and is something you only get on world-class airlines.

The last hour of the flight flew by and before I knew it we were on final approach to ICN.

An island near ICN




Approaching ICN located on Yeongjong Island.


The transportation center (right) and the terminal (left).




We had a slightly longer taxi than on my previous flight to ICN but that means more time to look at planes.

OZ in new & old livery.


KE 737


KE A333


Arrival
Disembarking was reasonably quick and I was soon at Immigration. Immigration was pretty busy due to an incoming 747 from NRT but more desks were opened when it was busy. Baggage was quick and we were soon roaming the Arrivals area at ICN.

Our plane that brought us to ICN


Nose Shot


Baggage Claim