- January 2022
- Korea Airlines 654
- Bangkok (BKK) – Seoul/Incheon (ICN)
- Departure: 0050 Arrival: 0726
- Duration: 4:36
- Aircraft: Airbus A330-323
- Registration: HL7702
- Seat: 1E (Prestige Class)
It was an amazing 3 weeks in Thailand, spending the new year and traveling around Bangkok. Finally, leaving aside all my holiday mood, the trip come to an end. While in Bangkok, I found some really amazing Marriott hotel deals and stayed at a few different Marriott properties. You can check out my different hotel reviews too!
On the way back, I booked Korean Air Prestige Class using my SKYPASS miles. Fortunately, I managed to avoid the peak season again and only used 32,500 miles to redeem on this 5 hours flight back to Korea.
Since I reviewed Korean Air’s Prestige Class from Seoul to Bangkok, I will briefly review my airport and flight experience for the return flight in this post.
Korean Air Prestige Class Check-In Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport:
Leaving the St. Regis Bangkok around 9:30 pm, Mrs. White and I arrived at the airport around 10:30 pm. It was late evening so there was not much traffic getting to the airport.
Korean Air counter at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport is located either at Row M or N, just by gate 6. Check-in formalities were smooth and quick as I was the last few passengers to show up and there were no queues.
As a Prestige Class passenger, I was entitled to use the Miracle Lounge and review but I had to postpone it to the next visit as Mrs. White’s Qatar Airways check-in counter line had no end in sight. Thus, by the time she got her boarding pass, my flight was announcing the last call.
Korean Air A330-300 Prestige Class Cabin:
10 minutes before the boarding gate closes, I got on board the aircraft and went to my seat 1E. Similar to my outbound flight, it was operated by 276-seater Airbus A330. Interestingly, there were no deadheading crew members on this flight, unlike the flight I took 3 weeks ago. I believe as COVID19-related regulation in Thailand has eased, Korean Air allowed the crew to have a layover in Bangkok.
There were less than 10 passengers out of 24 Prestige Class seats and most of the passengers had unoccupied seats beside them making the cabin look more spacious.
Korean Air A330-300 Prestige Class Seat:
My seat 1E used to be the “ex-First Class” seat with foot rest and a shelf in front of the IFE screen. Even though it was a red-eye flight, there were no separate duvets or bedding. Only blankets and pillows were distributed. Basic amenities were ready at the seat.
Korean Air Prestige Class Dining:
The dining was the only difference between the outbound and inbound flights. As the flight departs at midnight, there is no meal service after takeoff instead only breakfast was served around 3 hours before landing.
The omelet I have requested was a little too salty while the bacon was too hard to chew. So I ended up having a few bites and then finished up only the pastries and yogurt.
Despite no meals being served after takeoff, you can always request Korean Air’s signature spicy noodles anytime during the flight. But I wouldn’t recommend sleeping right after having the noodles.😉
Korean Air Prestige Class IFE:
Once more, the disappointment of the flight came from the IFE kits. Those earphones are still the worse earphone I have ever used. I’d prefer to use the economy class headset rather than these earphones. Other than that, I didn’t interact much with the IFE as I went directly to sleep after having a bowl of noodles.
Summary:
As there was not much difference except being a red-eye flight. I would say my overall experience on this flight is the same as my previous flight from Seoul to Bangkok. Nothing more or less.
To point out some of the dissatisfactions during the flight; beverages were still served in plastic cups and the earphone really needs to be replaced with better ones. I can barely hear proper sound from the movies and songs as the sound echoes.
Wrapping it up, it has been a while since I flew Korean Air’s international Prestige Class products. Surely, I enjoyed the flight but there also were drawbacks due to current situations. Hopefully, Korean Air restore its services back to the pre-pandemic era in the coming months.
