My first Korean Air experience, travel to Narita
Written: May 16 '03
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Inexpensive fare, professional staff, pretty good meal service
Cons: No bottled water given, seaweed soup ran out of diet coke
The Bottom Line: Our fare was excellent, very reasonable. The on board crew were professional and attentive. The food was more than just edible.
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| bluestarmom's Full Review: Korean Air |
This past December 2002 my 17 year old daughter and I flew as part of a 16 member delegation of the International Relations Council, Riverside CA. The purpose of our trip was to celebrate the 45 year anniversary sister city program between Riverside and Sendai, Japan. We were taking a museum display of local Native American baskets and artifacts, plus a wide array of antique quilts, for display at the Sendai Municipal Museum. Our original airline, Asiana scaled back to alternate travel days. Our original flight was cancelled as a result. We were rebooked on Korean Air.
Travel begins:
We began our trip at LAX, on December 7th, 2002. Since Korean Air does not advance assign seats, we began our journey to LAX at 5:30a.m. We arrived 3 hours before our scheduled 10 a.m. departure. The staff at Korean Air had not even begun to set up for check in when we first arrived. We were first in line for seating. That was the benefit of early arrival. My daughter and I got a row with only 2 seats. That was nice, you have more space, and not to worry about crawling over someone you do not know to get up from your seat and move about. The overhead storage bins quite nicely accomodated our one carry on each. Mine is a small 19" pilot case, my daughter brings her Jansport backpack.
Fare:
Our fare trip LAX to Narita, connecting to Sendai Japan. Return from Narita to LAX $495.00 per passenger. On our return we left Sendai on the bullet train to Tokyo, switching to the airport train.
Food and Beverages:
Once on board, we settled in. The staff on board were mostly of Asian. We were on a Boeing 747-400 series. The food and beverage services are pretty good for an airline. The drinks offered include soft drinks, water, complimentary red, burgundy and French red wine, juice and hot tea. There were several teas to choose from. The menu choices available are Western, Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Vegetarian, Kosher, Low fat and Low Cholesterol. We were given the Korean meal. The meal consisted of seaweed soup, seasoned beef strips and assorted vegetables, on a bed of rice, complimented by sesame oil and Korean hot pepper past. I could not even try to eat the seaweed soup. It was so salty, and just not palatable to me. The dessert served was rice cakes and tea. Your dinner beverage was white, burgundy or French red The dinner filled me up quite nicely. My daughter had a dinner with chicken, vegetables, same dessert. Again she did not have the seaweed soup either.
Entertainment:
Our Boeing 747 did not have personal televisions in coach class. We were provided with socks, sleepmask and headphones. The movie was shown overhead on several televisions throughout the cabin. If you are not overly tall, as I am not, you might have a taller head in front of you, making it more difficult to see the movie.
Seating:
Three classes exist,i.e. Premium Class, Business Class, Coach Class. Our seats in coach class measured 17.2", 27 degree seat decline, and 34" seat pitch. I like the window seat, my daughter the aisle. She is 5 feet 9 inches tall, and has more legroom on the aisle seat. I am only 5 feet 4 inches tall. We were accomodated round trip in a two seat row, just two seats side by side. No third seat with another passenger to disturb getting up to stretch your legs, or your trip to the lavatory.
Other Ammenities:
The lavatory is stocked with toothbrushes, toothpaste, facial lotion, and aftershave lotion for the gentlemen. The restrooms stayed clean throughout our flight. You may also duty free shop on board, through a catalog of items.
Dislikes:
I did dislike the fact that I could not get a full bottle of water. I had to actually ask the flight attendant about every 10 or 15 minutes for cups of water, until I was no longer thirsty. They later ran out of diet coke.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
bluestarmom
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Location: Riverside CA
Reviews written: 19
Trusted by: 1 member
About Me:
Longtime married with 3 daughters. My interests include travel, photography, football, and marching band.
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