Old but Comfy like granny's sofa | Asiana Airlines A380-800

OZ102

CHECK IN:

Asiana Airlines is located by the Star Alliance West wing check-in area. There was only one counter available for check-in when I arrived as the others were occupied, and I had some duty-free items with liquid placed on my carry on which I was told that it is not allowed and I had to place it on my checked luggage. I asked whether customs would check my luggage for those items since I bought them as duty free but they said only receipts would be required as proof.

As there is a Business Suite fitted on board on the first level, I asked if I was able to upgrade to that but was informed that due to my ticket being an award ticket, an upgrade is not possible. It is a shame as I really wanted to try that out given that would probably be sold as a first class product with a similar suite set up.

As a Business Class customer, we get access to the Star Alliance Gold Fast Track immigration, which I was not informed of until I saw it on my boarding pass. I was informed of 2 lounges that I could access as they both are Star Alliance lounges given Asiana does not have its own lounge in Narita. The options were United or ANA, which I chose the later given that I have more confidence that ANA would do it better than United. The lounge is large with mostly empty seating towards the rear, they also have a separate first class lounge located by the entrance. Shower room can be booked, although it was slightly confusing as they told me to go to the reception by the lounge to make the booking, but there was only a tablet for booking and no where to be seen for the shower reception where I needed to present my ticket to as stated on the receipt, eventually I found a staff member who pointed me to the right direction, which is hidden behind first class having to walk along a corridor next to the first class lounge.

After a very refreshing shower as I was dripping in sweat and feeling a hot mess when I got there, I was only left with 10 minutes to eat before heading to the gate for boarding as it is located about 10 minutes away (if you speed walk).

FLIGHT:

After getting on board, the crew started handing out arrival cards and assisting passengers with it. There was no pre-departure beverage or service. As we taxied to the runway, the crew did their inspection and one whom I assume was the purser came to greet each passenger during all the chaos, I would have preferred that they re-organise how they did that as it could help reduce the workload for the crew and also not to have all the crew running up and down the cabin when preparing for takeoff.

After takeoff, we were handed a menu. There was 1 option for each white wine, red wine and champagne, and some liqueur and spirits. Non-alcoholic beverages were also available with a good number of options. The food offerings for this flight are either Korean or Western options, for Korean, the mains will be Bibimbap while the Western option would be a Tenderloin Steak. I have a pre-ordered vegetarian meal, I am not quite sure what it is but it tasted like some sort of tomato based sauce with pepper, a potato cake or something similar, and some beans, the entree is a lettuce wrap, a fruit platter and a bun was also given.

I had a little bit of time to try out the flat bed, judging by the footrest I could tell this one has a much higher position in comparison to the other products I’ve tried such as the Malaysia Airlines and Qantas ones. After putting it on flat mode and laying down, I could feel the massive difference in height, the seat is also much better padded, and without any pillows or blankets to soften up, it still feels comfortable. The footrest is slightly small but that’s because I’ve shoes on and when you’re sleeping I assume you’ll be cuddling your feet up anyway (or maybe only me doing so). Even though it is situated higher up, the seat shell still feels very high up giving a sense of privacy, but sitting upright or in a relaxed position will not give you that much privacy as you will be able to easily directly look across to your seat neighbour, especially the one on the other side of the window seat if you are sitting on a window seat. The middle row is slightly offset so you might see their body and legs but not much of their face unless you lean forward.

The seat offers ample storage area, especially towards the side storage bin compartment where you can store a laptop bag, hand bag or shopping bag, although it is not large enough to fit a fatly loaded bag pack like mine. There is a flat surface in front of the magazine/amenities area where you can put your drinks and other items that are of less valuable as they are closest to the aisle and not very secure since people can walk past and grab it. There were slippers readily available on each seat but I find it not to be of particular useful for such a short flight. The IFE headset was well padded with some noise cancelling, but given how quiet the A380 is it’s hardly noticeable.

We ended up holding for 10 minutes or so before coming into land, arriving 13 minutes behind schedule. The landing was probably one of the roughest I’ve experienced in a while, probably exacerbated by the huge size of the A380 and the strong crosswind. After landing, I received a public warning about heavy rain, although it didn’t seem to rain for the rest of the evening.

OZ102

This is one of the earlier flights departing and I chose this time simply thinking that I would be enjoying their Business Suite not knowing I would be in a different Business Class product. When I tried doing a dummy booking I found that I could only book the Business Suite when I select the highest fare class of Business Class.

CHECK IN:

This flight will be the same as the one on OZ101, but I will be able to check out the Asiana lounge which is not available in Narita. I am also able to check in through the city terminal, which will allow me to skip it when I arrive at Incheon as it is an early flight and I tried taking the very first train bound for Incheon it is still pushing for time. The city terminal does close 3 hours ahead of the flight schedule so if you’re planning to check in there, make sure to arrive a lot earlier. You’ll also need to scan your Incheon bound AREX train ticket before being allowed into the check-in area, the check-in agent will also check once more of your train departure time (as stated on the ticket) to ensure you will have enough time to get to the airport and on the aircraft.

After a quick check-in at a mostly empty city terminal, I was told to wait in the waiting area for around 10 minutes for baggage inspection. I got called around 7 minutes later, they were concerned about 2 canisters which were hairspray and deodorant, and my shiftcam which is a phone holder with a camera function for a closer DSLR like experience, as there was a small power bank inside for powering that and to charge my device as well. After that I headed on the express train bound for Incheon, taking just under an hour.

ASIANA LOUNGE:

Based on the airport map there seem to be 3 different Asiana Business lounge, I went to the one 2nd closest to my gate which is gate 10 for today. The lounge is fairly big with a good seating capacity, but I assume with the large number of departures in the morning, the lounge was also very busy and most of the seats were occupied. I’m not sure if it’s because it is the closer one to the immigration area hence everyone just unconsciously entering that lounge but there could be some people who were like me going there not knowing of the other one located just next door.

Right after entering the lounge, there is a bar area with self-service alcoholic beverages. Between the bar and the end where the buffet area is, a range of sitting arrangements can be found, some work desks facing towards the runway which was where I chose to sit, and some group seating areas, some private cocoon booths with solo seating, some dining tables, and the rest are lounge chairs with coffee table on the side.

The buffet offers a range of hot food such as fried dumplings, fried rice, congee, soup, a bakery section with a range of white/brown bread, croissants, and a salad bar. A range of coffee, tea, 2 juices, and soft drinks. The self-service alcoholic bar contains a range of liqueur and wine. Shower room is also available in this lounge but I did not use the facility.

FLIGHT:

We got greeted by the purser during the giving out of the arrival cards while we were still boarding the rest of the passengers, which is a nice change as this should be the way they sequence it, but given that I've experienced the other extreme this may not be a policy or procedure that they follow, so there should be an update in training to ensure that their service is provided in a consistent manner.

This is the same A380 hard product so there won’t be anything new to add, but a few observations were that the remote for the IFE was the right way around this time, I’m not sure if that’s the case for the left side of the cabin where I sat prior or that the particular aircraft had an error installation. This seat is also less beat up compared to the one I was on previously so that’s a positive, but in saying that it is still an old product and the age shows regardless.

I had an opportunity to visit the toilet this time, and it is very spacious in comparison to other wide-body aircraft, I could stretch both my arms out easily while for other toilets I might only be able to do 1 arm at most, and of course who doesn’t like the window view out to the sky. Prior to landing, I was desperate and in need to use after the cabin crew prepared the cabin for landing, the 2 toilets in our section were occupied and I got instructed to go towards the front where I thought there was one by door 2, but it was actually right up by door 1 and the cabin crew was confused as to why I was walking there for the toilet and she told me to go to the back by door 3, and the crew who told me to use the one in front informed the other crew member that it was occupied and given they were already done preparing for landing, they wanted to move people along as quickly as possible. The toilet up front is much more spacious with probably more than double the size of the one at the back, which is how Emirates is able to install a shower there anyway. There was a mini couch on top of the toilet but that is about as lavish as it gets for this toilet. There seems to be a small sitting area up front on the other side where I assume another toilet could be opted as well, that may be useful for longer flights but for short hop it wouldn’t matter too much.

The food served seemed to be of larger portion, it could be psychological given I had quite a bit to eat at the lounge before the flight so I wasn’t too hungry by the time I got on board. The main meal seems to be some sort of eggplant with tomato sauce, although I felt there was a lack of taste even though the sauce was enough, some slight adjustments like adding additional spices to enhance the food taste would probably help. There was an entree that seemed to be Mediterranean or middle eastern inspired, a fruit platter and a bread option, I wasn’t given the bread right away so the other crew with the bread basket came and I got a garlic bread and I ended up with another bun that’s part of the vegetarian meal. There was no jam given like the previous flight so I wouldn’t have been keen to eat that anyway unless I was still craving for something after.

The crew service attitude was nice but I wouldn’t rate them to be any higher than 75 out of 100 given I could have received the same or similar service attitude with other carriers, there was nothing that particularly stands out for me which means there’s plenty of room for them to grow and improve if they strive for, so unless they have gone above and beyond, I don’t think it would be justified to provide any higher rating for what I’ve experienced for both flights.

CONCLUSION:

Is it worth flying Asiana Airlines or their A380 Business Class? I think I would fly them again and be on their Business Class as long as I can get a discounted fare or through an award ticket, but it won’t be something I would pay for full price, given the age of the product, lack of privacy, standard service and average-ok food, but I think something that would have to be of big consideration is the flight time and day, if you are flying overnight, this product may not be as glamorous but the comfortable padding and quiet cabin would give you a very good night rest, assuming there’s no crying babies or pets, however for day time flights you might missout a lot on the in flight amenities such as the IFE system as they are not on par with many other airlines and probably their own newer systems, the limited and old system is not compensated by the addition of Wifi connectivity so you are stuck with your own device or getting a day nap.

There are also plenty of competitors along this route so comparing their hard product and pricing would give you the best price and offering there is, regardless of which cabin class you might be hopping on.

Asiana is planning to retire their A380 in 2026, so there won't be much time left to experience this product or the bird itself. Maybe it may gain a new life somewhere else, but with other airlines planning similar retirement over the next decade in favour of the newer aircraft such as the 787, 350 and 777X, it will start to become a rare treat. I myself have only flown this 3 times, including this return trip which is rather surprising given how many are being flown however I cherish the moments I've had with it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_P3VxydNyM