As far as hobbies go, First class travel is not a bad one at all! Our member kpc is on a mission to test as many A380 First class products as possible. Recently this saw them testing the A380 suite on Korean-based Asiana Airlines from New York to Seoul.
Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to fly OZ (Asiana) F class product from JFK to ICN. OZ only flies their A380 F product to 3 cities from ICN, namely JFK, LAX and FRA so there are not many opportunities. Seasonally, OZ does fly the A380 from ICN to SYD but it does not sell the F class product on that route. With limited routes flown, my recent flight back from JFK (booked with Lifemiles) provided the perfect opportunity to test OZ’s A380 F product out.
The journey began at New York’s JFK Airport. Here, Asiana shares a lounge with Star Alliance partner Swiss Airlines. Unfortunately for First class passengers, only the Business class section is open at the time of the Asiana flight’s departure. The Business lounge is adequate, but not quite up to the high First class standard.
Once on board, though, the Asiana First class product is fantastic! Asiana’s A380 has 12 First class suites in a 1-2-1 layout. Each suite comes with sliding doors for privacy and plenty of storage space.
On board, the suites are very similar to both the equivalent SQ and EK (minus the gold glam!) products with sliding doors to make it a private cabin. Unfortunately, unlike SQ, you can’t have a double bed!
Shortly after take-off it was time for lunch, and the extensive menu listed both Western and Korean meal choices. The western menu, in which our member chose to partake, included things like caviar, steak and lobster. The Korean menu featured local favourites like bibimbap. An extensive wine and champagne list accompanied the menu.
After enjoying a delicious meal, our member converted their seat into a comfortable bed in the sky.
The seat converts into a very comfortable, full flat bed stretching 210cm in length, and with doors closed, you have a completely private cabin; you can change into your PJs here without going to the bathroom.
Overall, the Asiana First class product gets the tick of approval. There are some aspects of the service that could be improved, but it seems like a very pleasant way to fly.
So there you have it….I think Asiana A380 F is a fantastic product…I think EY F is the only one with a significantly better hard product, and I would rate OZ on par with EK and SQ seat / bed wise. The size of the TV on OZ is a big winner.
The service was very good but not brilliant, I think, partly due to the language barrier as some of the FAs’ English was not strong but much better than my Korean. Try OZ F A380 out if you get the opportunity, and I don’t think you will be disappointed!
The flight was booked using Avianca Life Miles. This is a popular program because Avianca sells its miles – often with generous bonuses included. The trip from New York to Seoul costs 90,000 Life Miles in First class. Adding on a Business class flight from Seoul to Sydney costs just 21,000 extra Life Miles. So, if you’re thinking about booking a similar trip, it’s well worth taking the time to familiarise yourself with the Life Miles frequent flyer program!
Read the full review and see our member’s trip photos HERE.
