Flight Ke645

[Lynn Hepler]

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Last year, for the first-ever TPG Awards, I was assigned to fly Korean Air's business class, as it was in contention for the award for best international business-class product. Korean didn't end up winning, but it's certainly a contender once again for this year's awards.

I had to make my way to Australia so I could catch a flight in Qantas' first-class cabin on the A380 from Melbourne (MEL) to Los Angeles (LAX) that I was able to book for 70,000 Alaska miles, and I figured I'd take the really, really long way there in order to review several different products.

Korean Air is no longer a transfer partner of Chase Ultimate Rewards, which used to be our go-to way for booking Korean flights, so we knew that we were going to have to get creative when looking for an itinerary that would allow me to review this flight.

Predictably, beginning my journey anywhere in the U.S. turned out to be outrageously expensive. I have had good luck finding relatively reasonable SkyTeam business-class fares when the ticket starts in either Toronto or Montreal (YUL), so I used the ITA Matrix to piece together an itinerary. Sure enough, I was able to find a decently priced (for business class, at least) itinerary to Shanghai that would allow me to fly the 748 between Atlanta and Seoul.

We paid $2,330 for the one-way ticket with The Platinum Card from American Express in order to take advantage of the card's 5x bonus category on flights booked directly through the carrier or with Amex Travel. In total, we earned 11,650 Membership Rewards points for this purchase, which are worth about $230 according to TPG's current valuations.

If you want to fly Korean Air in a premium class, you can transfer your Marriott Bonvoy points to Korean's SkyPass program and book flights that way, but with what's not the most favorable transfer ratio, you'll want to be 100% sure that you want to use your Marriott points that way before making the transfer.

This trip began with Delta's first flight of the day from Toronto to Atlanta, to give me the best chance of making my flight in case things went sideways. But if things went according to plan, I'd have plenty of time in Atlanta to give the full ground experience a try. Luckily, the flight gods were looking down favorably upon me that day, and the trip got started without a hitch.

As soon as I landed in Atlanta, I made my way out of the secure area so that I could begin the whole process again as if I were originating there. I was very early, so the check-in area was pretty much deserted.

Obviously, it was Delta-centric, but Korean Air had three staffed check-in desks (one for passengers in first and business class, one for its Morning Calm elite members and one for economy) but no dedicated self-check-in kiosks. It was adjacent to Air France-KLM's check-in area, though, so passengers were to use those kiosks to check in for their flights. I found it strange that there was only one desk for economy passengers, but maybe as the flight got closer more economy lanes opened up.

There were hardly any other people in the check-in area, so I breezed through security in no time at all, and I checked my bag all the way to Shanghai, as I didn't want to deal with it as I was reviewing the flight.

About an hour before my flight was scheduled to board, I wandered into the shower area to freshen up before the long-haul flight to Asia. There were several shower rooms available, and I was able to access one right away after checking in with the attendant.

Each shower room had a toilet and was equipped with a a few towels as well as a bath mat. There was a sign letting guests know that both dental and shaving kits were available and could be requested from the attendant. Toiletries were from Malin+Goetz and came in larger multiuse bottles in the shower itself.

Finally, after my shower, I spent a little bit of time on the Sky Deck, since the weather had improved considerably since I'd arrived earlier in the morning. It was still drying out after an early-morning rain shower, but it was a fun place to hang out for a little bit and watch the morning aircraft movements.

I departed the Sky Club about 15 minutes before boarding was scheduled to begin so I could check out the gate area and secure a spot at the front of the priority line. I wanted to be one of the first on board for this review.

My flight departed from Gate F1, which turned out to be a schlep from the lounge. Once I arrived, I could immediately tell that there were not enough seats or power outlets for a full 747, as many people were standing waiting for boarding to begin.

The first boarding announcement was made about 20 minutes after the scheduled boarding time, and then Sky Priority boarding was not announced until 20 minutes after that. Despite the delay, I was thrilled to be boarding this 747 for the flight to Seoul.

Business class (called Prestige Class by the airline) is spread over two cabins on the 747-8. It occupies the space directly behind the nose of the aircraft before the economy section (Rows 7-10), and then the entire upper deck.

If you're flying business on this aircraft, the upper deck is definitely where you want to be. First, the upper deck is arranged in a 2-2 configuration, whereas the lower deck gets a 2-2-2 setup. And second, you get to climb the stairs! Enough said.

After ascending the staircase, it's practically a whole new world. The upper deck feels way more private, as there are only 22 seats located up there. Some people have described the upper deck of the 748 as feeling somewhat like a private jet, and I can't disagree. It's certainly the closest I've ever gotten to a private jet.

Each grouping of two seats on either side of the airplane is staggered, so you're never looking directly at the person sitting next to you. Also, there's a large privacy shield that can be raised after takeoff that pretty much makes each seat completely private.

Another great feature about these upper-deck seats is the positively cavernous amount of storage they provide at each window seat. Thanks to the shape of the cabin, there are two large "lockers" between each window seat and the fuselage. They were big enough to hold my sizable backpack with ease.

Other than the lockers that are only at window seats on the upper deck, there isn't much storage to speak of when it comes to Apex Suites. The seat itself almost touches the sides of each "suite" and so, beside a few narrow ledges and the space under the footrest, your stuff will be very much in your field of view.

The seat controls are placed logically in the front of the armrest, and the IFE remote is below them. Each seat features a USB and AC power port, though I only used the AC outlet because I found it much more conveniently located than the USB, which was buried in the literature/headphone/amenity kit pockets.

I found my seat to be very comfortable overall, though I was lucky to be on the upper deck in a window seat. Don't get me wrong, you'll still be comfortable in a middle-section seat, but with Apex Suites there are winners and losers when it comes to individual seats. Comparing this most recent experience with the last one I had, I came away much more impressed than I had been after my middle-section Dreamliner flight.

Waiting for me at my seat upon boarding were an entirely too small pillow and a rather shabby-looking fleece blanket. The pillow wasn't nearly big enough to be comfortable, but the crew was happy to give me another, which made things better. The fleece blanket was really hot and looked like it was at least a couple of years past its prime.

I probably should have tried harder to sleep, but given the midday departure from the U.S., I wasn't exactly tired. I would have loved to fill the time with work, but there was no Wi-Fi, so once I finished what I could do offline, I couldn't go any further. I spent some time watching the airshow, of course, but that can only keep one entertained for so long.

It's this area of the flight that could be improved most with Korean. The lack of entertainment options and weaker amenities aren't a deal breaker for me, and I would certainly fly with Korean again despite this, but compared to the top players in the industry, Korean has a lot of catching up to do.

Korean offers two different paths for dining: Korean or Western. The amuse-bouche and appetizer are the same, but if you choose a Western main course you also receive a soup course and bread. If you choose the Korean option, you receive traditional Korean side dishes, or banchan, with your main.

The full cabin service got started 25 minutes after takeoff with flight attendants bringing warm towels around. Shortly after, F.A.s came through the cabin again, this time with Champagne and an amuse-bouche of seared tuna with asparagus and a balsamic vinegar-and-olive oil dressing. Korean stocks Perrier-Jouet Grand Brut in business class, which retails for about $50 on the ground.

As I was served the amuse-bouche, the F.A. asked me whether I'd like to have a Western meal or the Korean for my main. I'd had the bibimbap on all my previous flights with Korean and consider it a highlight, so I didn't hesitate to order it again.

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