Flight Report: OZ204 ICN-LAX

Carrier: Asiana Airlines
Plane Model: B777
Flight Class: Business Class
Sleeper Seat: Yes (angled lie-flat)
Duration of Flight: 10 Hrs 45 Mins
Date of Travel: Sep 19, 2006



After a brief visit to Hong Kong and Seoul , I was ready to return home to do some work that were piling up at my desk while I was away. I was very much looking forward to flying with Asiana Airlines again and trying out its new business class seat. Asiana is now my favorite airline, much better than Singapore Airlines or Thai Airways if I may add.

The Asiana lounge (separated into First and Business Class) at Incheon International Airport was big (unlike the one at LAX). This is not surprising since this is the home airport of Asiana Airlines . Not only did the lounge offer free wireless internet connection, a variety of food and beverages, shower facility and a pianist playing soothing music, it also offered lockers for guests to store their bags. The lockers really do come in handy when you want to do some duty free shopping and do not feel like lugging your bags with you.


Boarding for the flight was smooth. Security was tighter on this flight than others as usual since it was US bound. Upon boarding, the chief purser came over and greeted me in Korean (she, as well as many in Seoul , thought I was Korean because of my last name). She quickly apologized after finding out I wasn’t. She then informed all her flight attendants to address me in English so that I didn’t have to explain myself again. This was really impressive. Asiana flight attendants pay attention to every little detail and possess such a pleasant, friendly and sincere demeanor when they work onboard a flight -- something that even the flight attendants of other Asian airlines should take a note or two, let alone those crappy senior citizens who work on US carriers.

The seat was indeed the new business class seats (I was given mixed messages about this from the Asiana reservation agents – some said the flight had new business class seat and some said the reverse). Actually you can find this out easily. If the business class section has 4 rows of seat (no row #5), then it has the new business class seat. If the flight has 5 rows of seat, then it is the old business class seat. Asiana is introducing the new seats in all of its long haul B747 and B777 progressively. The seat was the angled lie-flat style and it provided much lumbar support hence very comfortable to sit on / sleep in. The monitor was much bigger than that of Thai Airways or Singapore Airlines. The only difference was that this was not an AVOD style in-flight entertainment. Food offered was great and tasty. There were a few choices but I opted for the traditional Korean meal consisting of bim-bim-bab, side dishes and a bowl steamed rice. The portion was generous and the food was delicious. I fell asleep for 7 hours after the meal and woke up to the flight attendants serving the meal prior to arrival. The choice was between roast chicken with potatoes and fried grouper with rice. I picked the latter. It was a tasty choice.

Before landing, the chief purser went from one business class passenger to another asking them if they had enjoyed the flight and if there was anything she could do for them prior to landing. I was really impressed by that since I have not seen flight attendants of other Asian carriers doing that (let’s not even mention those in the US !)

We arrived on time and I got my bags in less than half an hour after going through immigration. From now on I think I am going to use Asiana Airlines when I travel to Asia . Little things matter when it comes to delivering exceptional customer service, and Asiana Airlines appears to know this really well. Now if Asiana can have new business class seats in all of its long-haul flight then it will definitely give Asian leaders Singapore Airlines or Cathay Pacific a run for their money.