One of the most frequent sight over the past decade and a half in Los Angeles has been Asiana Airlines’s A380-800s, one of two Korean superjumbos to come to the City of Angels. However, due to the impending integration of Asiana with Korean Air and the latter’s moving away from the type as the carrier prepares to take delivery of the A350-1000, it’s not likely that OZ’s A380s will be around for very much longer in SoCal. Thus, I decided to get in the reverse of a flight I did two years ago while I still could. Without further ado, here’s Asiana 202 from Seoul to L.A.
Server: Solo
Airline: Asiana Airlines
Aircraft: Airbus A380-800
Origin: Incheon International Airport, Jung-gu, South Korea (ICN)
Destination: Los Angeles International Airport, Los Angeles, California (LAX)
Flight Number: OZ202
Route: RKSI-KLAX
Seat: 2K (Business Suite)
Time En Route: 11 Hours 24 Minutes
Preparing to board on a hot afternoon in South Korea at Gate 66 at Incheon International’s Terminal 2. This is our first time flying on one of Asiana’s A380s in a while, and we’re especially glad to be back after the date for the integration of the carrier and the likely retirement of the type has been set. Relatively recently, the first class seating on this aircraft has been rebranded as Business Suites, changing the searing configuration from 12F/66J/417M to 78J/417M. It’s a sign of the times, in a way, as the airline prepares to fully merge with Korean Air and the distinctively Asiana aspects of its fleet are phased out.
Taxiing to Runway 15R as an Asiana 777-200ER arrives from Prague as OZ546. We were able to acquire our Business Suite for only a slight surcharge over the “regular” business class, which is something of a steal. For this somewhat minor price increase, we have a full-enclosed suite complete with a sliding privacy door, a massive IFE screen, and a wide, comfortable lie-flat seat to enjoy it all in. While it might not be as technologically advanced as the latest busimess class suites on the market, having remained pretty much unchanged since our aircraft’s delivery in the mid-2010s, it might just provide the most bang for the buck in terms of the hard product.
Heavy takeoff from ICN by the Terminal 1 Midfield satellite, which has a number of narrowbody and widebody aircraft of Star Alliance and Oneworld carriers from around the world. Asiana Airlines moved to Terminal 2 at the beginning of this year, limiting T1 A380 operations to Emirates. In a way, it’s the passing of an era.
Climbing out of Incheon as we listen to the sound of four Trent 900s in climb thrust. We’ve started up a movie on the IFE screen which, despite being over a decade old, works magnificently. In addition to the privacy afforded by our suite, the former first class cabin is only about two-thirds full on this flight, which enhances the intimacy of our seat. It’s like having our own mini-apartment on the aircraft.
Eating lunch of the other side of the Sea of Japan, south of Niigata. Asiana’s dining service in Business Suites on this flight is amazing, with the food being the best we’ve had with the airline. How much of that is due to integrating its catering with Korean Air’s is unknown to us, but we certainly aren’t complaining! We’ll be well-set for the long journey across the Pacific to Los Angeles after this meal.
After a few hours of sleep, we’ve woken up over the North Pacific at dawn. In another fantastic return on investment, we slept wonderfully in an absolutely gargantuan bed, serenaded to sleep by the Trent 900s. Now that we’re awake, we’ll probably check out the pre-arrival meal selection. We’ve got a long day ahead of us when we get to L.A. and we have to stay fueled, after all.
On our final approach into LAX with the sunrise reflecting on the skyscrapers of Downtown L.A. Although the breakfast options in Business Suites were not as extensive as the lunch ones, our selection was still very delicious. After finishing it, we descended down the length of California from Monterey on south, as the Golden State wakes up. Now, mere minutes from our destination, we’ve got our seat back in the upright position and all of our stuff packed to disembark.
Morning arrival in Los Angeles on Runway 24R. We’re one of the earliest heavy arrivals of the day at LAX, helping herald the start of another busy day here. Even though it’s still relatively early, the In-N-Out on Sepulveda has a crowd of people getting a bite to eat while watching the arrivals at the airport. Hopefully we made some people’s morning on our way in!
Taxiing by an emptier-than-usual Midfield Concourse on our way to the main Tom Bradley International Terminal. While LAX does have a decent number of aircraft moving about the ramp and taxiways at this time, the congestion that can lead to half-hour waits for gates at times is absent, so we’re making good progress to ours. There is, however, a flight on this side of the Midfield Concourse waiting to go to where we just came from, an Air Premia 787-9 that was recently towed over from the remote stands. The traffic at LAX ebbs and flows, but never really comes to a complete stop.
Deplaned at the TBIT after less than 12 hours from gate to gate. Like the 777-200ER we flew on before, this Asiana A380 is a symbol of a closing chapter in South Korean airlime history, as the carrier gets ready to be fully assimilated by Korean Air. Of all the long-haul premium carriers we’d have imagined would disappear or exit the intercontinental market, Asiana was not one of them. Nevertheless, we had an extremely enjoyable time aboard in Business Suites, and at a fairly reasonable price for what we got, too. Hopefully, in the not-too-distant future, we can fly on one of the OZ Whales again before it’s too late.
