After almost 2 years, I’m finally doing a long-haul flight out of Las Vegas again. It’s the reverse of the only one I’ve done there so far, Korean Air’s route between the city and its main hub at Seoul’s Incheon International Airport. Currently, the route is flown daily with the 777-300ER, an unsung hero of KE’s long-haul fleet.
Server: Solo
Airline: Korean Air
Aircraft: Boeing 777-300ER
Origin: Harry Reid International Airport, Paradise, Nevada (LAS)
Destination: Incheon International Airport, Jung-gu, South Korea (ICN)
Flight Number: KE6
Route: KLAX-RKSI
Seat: 10J (Prestige)
Time En Route: 13 Hours 39 Minutes
Waiting to board our aircraft at LAS’s Terminal 3. This is going to be our first flight with Korean Air since November last year and we’re excited to be back.
Taxiing out of the ramp to the runway. Our aircraft is equipped with the older Prestige suites in business class. Despite their age, they’re still quite a good product, even if they lack direct aisle access for window seats, a feature that’s increasingly a standard for business class seats.
Taking off from Runway 26R. Estimated time en route tonight is just over 13 and a half hours. Should be a relatively smooth flight with the exception of some minor turbulence over the Pacific Ocean.
Climbing out of the Las Vegas area with the GE90s rumbling away at their climb thrust setting. At the moment, we’re looking over the menu for tonight’s dinner service. Korean Air’s business class menu is one of the best in an extremely competitive market.
Settling in for some sleep over the Pacific. We had an excellent beef bulgogi served with vegetable wraps. Time to see how comfortable our lie-flat seat is for sleeping.
Waking up sometime after moonrise after a very good sleep. Even though it’s not the most private experience, even on Korean Air, we had no problem drifting off to the Land of Nod. We’re going to be spending the next couple hours watching one of the many TV shows available on KE’s IFE system, with a complimentary snack of cookies and pizza. Takes us back to a slow Saturday night back in college!
Initial descent into Incheon shortly after reaching the coast of South Korea. It’s been a while since we’ve been to Seoul and we’re stoked to be back.
Pre-dawn arrival at ICN on Runway 34L. Our flight crew set us down rather hard, but if that’s the worst thing that can be said about a flight, then it’s a great one. Even this early in the morning, Incheon International is busy with activity, as we can see from our window.
Taxiing to Terminal 2 with the landing lights of several other aircraft glittering in the distance. Meanwhile, we’re getting our backpack out from under the seat in front of us and getting ready to deplane.
One final look at our aircraft after deplaning at Gate 32. Korean Air has come a long way since its days of being an industry pariah, evolving into one of the world’s best airlines. Their long-haul business class definitely reflects this change that’s happened over the past 30 years or so, with even the legacy product being one of the best in the skies in terms of service. We’re excited to try out the airline’s new business class on the 777s when we can, so we’ll definitely be coming back!
