Last leg of our journey to Seoul: an Asiana flight in economy class operated by Airbus A330.
I already had the opportunity to test Asiana, in business this time, between Hong-Kong and Seoul earlier this year and it is with curiosity that I am about to discover their economy class.
Note: if for many people Seoul rhymes with Incheon, its flagship airport, this flight will take us to Gimpo, the 3rd airport of the country (25M passengers in 2018). The reason: the schedule suited us better than the flight to Incheon and, moreover, it is much closer to the city.
Ground experience
We arrived from Frankfurt on Lufthansa with only cabin luggage in order to avoid the hassle of retrieving the luggage and rechecking it in Beijing since the tickets were bought separately and we were not sure at the beginning to be able to check in from end to end.
Lufthansa staff were waiting for First Class passengers to guide them through the Beijing airport.
After a little walk in the corridors of the airport we arrived at the line which leads to the security controls even if we remain in international zone. They make us go through the priority queue but considering the number of people present, I’m not sure that it changes much!
After an electronic control of the passport and boarding pass, we go back down one floor to pass the security check for passengers in transit.
If the security controls of English airports make you bristle because of their fussy nature, you should know that here it is the same. But every country has its fad: here it is the batteries that attract all the attention. I don’t know if you are aware of it but not all powers are allowed on a plane, something that the passenger usually doesn’t care about and that is almost never checked…except in rare countries like here.
In short, after a thorough individual check of each battery in my bag and their capacity, I finally passed the screening.
Experience or isolated or difference of rigor according to the airports, I remember a much less thorough control during my last passage in China, in Shanghai this time. We will find the same fussy character in Beijing for our return in Europe one week later.
The airport is large and modern. And to think that they are building a 4th terminal and a second airport!
We are not too motivated by the visit of the duty free and we go to the Business-Class lounge of Air China to which we are entitled to our Star Alliance Gold status even if we travel in economy class. A decent lounge, but nothing more.
After a little wait it is time to go to the boarding gate.
Boarding
The aircraft, an Airbus A330 is there and is waiting for us.
The passengers wait quietly.
The staff quietly prepares the boarding.
Boarding starts on time. Person in priority queue and total respect of boarding priorities.
Settling in and discovering the cabin
The staff waits at attention in the cabin and greets the passengers.
We are in a 2-4-2 configuration in this A330. Classic.
The cabin is spacious and clean. Once again we notice how pleasant it is to travel on large twin-aisle aircraft even on a small medium-haul flight.
Our seats :
Light tones make a change even if it’s easier to get dirty. But the condition of the cabin is impeccable.
The legroom is correct.
As in my previous experience with Asiana it is hot, very hot, for lack of really turning the air conditioning on the ground. And there are no individual adjustable nozzles.
The luggage compartments are almost empty so it was easy for us to put our things away. It has to be said that the generous baggage policy of Asian airlines in general does not encourage you to carry on with a cabin bag when you can easily check large volumes.
The screen of the in-flight entertainment system is in the average of the market in size.
On the other hand, no more than during my experience in business, I will not be seduced by its quality and the quality of the catalog.
We are given cards to fill out for immigration formalities in Seoul and, rarely, we are given a pen to fill them out. Once the card filled we give the pen to the flight attendant who kindly offers us to keep it.
We are finally ready to leave on time.
The flight and the service
The taxiing time is long, very long. It’s almost like being in Istanbul. The airport is huge. 22 minutes of taxiing then 10 minutes of waiting because of the density of the traffic that day.
The safety instructions are very classic.
We finally take off for Seoul. We cross the Beijing pollution cloud and soon after the temperature becomes breathable again in the cabin.
Service begins 20 minutes after takeoff. For a flight of 2h10 “block” (i.e. from gate to gate), therefore about 1h40 in flight, we do not expect any feats on the tray of this medium haul flight.
There are four trolleys per cabin section, so it goes fast, very fast. All with a smile and great politeness.
And here is the tray!
As for the quality, we will see after having tasted but as for the composition and the quantity, we know European airlines that do not do better on a long-haul flight!
1st positive point: metal cutlery in economy class as it is too rarely seen.
The salad is very good.
Now let’s see the main course. Very clever when it comes to serving: the lettuce leaf covers the rice to prevent it from getting cold after the lid is removed!
At the first bite the rice is very bland. Once mixed with the chicken and the spicy sauce it is good and very consistent. I was already bluffed by the quantities served in business, I am happy to see that the economy passenger is not left out!
We are served drinks and told “if you want a refill, press the button and I’ll be right over“. First time I’ve heard this spontaneously!
After 15 minutes the service is finished without any pressure on the passengers. Remarkable efficiency and friendliness.
Finally the temperature remains a bit high
The flight will continue without encumbers and we will be served in drinks several times.
Big turbulences during the approach and landing but the airline is not to blame.
An opportunity to remember the population density that exists in Seoul.
The staff
It has already been mentioned but the staff was once again remarkable. Very present in the cabin, even during boarding, he will be very efficient during the service without rushing the customer. All with a smile. I don’t notice any difference with the business class which shows a real customer orientation.
Low costs also make It simpler when you can put so many people to serve in economy on such a short flight, but this does not detract from the exemplary behavior of the crew.
The arrival
The business class will logically land first before the economy class is “freed up”. Good initiative: to avoid traffic jams at the front of the aircraft when the two aisles meet at the galley to access the door, the left aisle will exit through the front of coach class and the right aisle will go to the end of business to use the business gangway and not have to fit into the left lane. Faster and more efficient. Simple but it was necessary to think about it.
It will only take us a few minutes to get to the police checkpoints, which will take place in a few seconds, the process being largely digitalized as is often the case in the region. Passport scan, fingerprinting and photo taking and goodbye.
Now to our hotel in town!
Bottom line
Although the ranking is sometimes disputed, Asiana is a 5* Skytrax airline and we can see why. A long-haul service on a medium-haul aircraft and a totally exemplary crew from start to finish. A masterpiece of efficiency and customer experience.
Our routing
- Paris-Manchester, Air France Economy
- Manchester-Frankfurt, Lufthansa Business Class
- Frankfurt-Beijing, Lufthansa First Class
- Beijing-Seoul, Asiana Economy (here)
- Seoul-Beijing, Asiana Economy
- Beijing-Munich, Lufthansa First Class
- Munich-Frankfurt, Lufthansa Business Class (not interesting, not reviewed)
- Frankfurt-Manchester, Lufthansa Business Class (not interesting, not reviewed)
- Manchester-Paris, Air France Economy (coming soon)
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