My longhaul Korean Air flight from Atlanta to Seoul in first class on the flagship Boeing 747-8 was a very pleasant journey overall with some rough edges, but a great crew and spacious seat.
Korean Air 747-8 First Class: My First Impressions
Korean Air operates the longest 747-8 flight in the world; the 7,152-mile journey from Atlanta to Seoul was blocked at nearly 16 hours.
Onboard, I was greeted by two flight attendants, Ms. Kim and Ms. Park, who did a wonderful job of taking care of me during the long daytime journey to South Korea.
I appreciated the pace of service, the overall attention to detail, and the fact that they somehow knew when I woke up and came over promptly to check on whether I needed any food or drink.
The seat onboard, branded the Kosmo Suite 2.0 by Korean Air, is very spacious and has closing doors. The signature turquoise seat covers have been replaced with neutral grey seat covers…I prefer the turquoise, which is so ubiquitous with Korean Air and its livery that has not changed in decades (I like it).
I did not go hungry on this flight.
Lunch was served after takeoff, starting with an amuse-bouche and glass of Champagne (Devaux “Stenope” 2011).
A full caviar service followed.
The flight attendants were unaware of what Negroni was, but the ingredients were present so I had one with my lunch.
Next came a soup course, followed by salad.
The flight attendant recommended I try a California red wine with my main course from Shafer and it was very good.
I loved the palate cleanser before the main course.
Filet mignon for my main course…the other choices being bibimbap or sea bass.
All four passengers ordered the steak…I had pre-ordered a Korean meal on the flight from Seoul and wanted to see how the KAL steak compared to the JAL steak departing the USA.
I was asked how I wanted it prepared beforehand (medium rare) and it was served a perfect medium rare.
I concluded the meal with fruit, cheese, and cake along with a cappuccino.
I then changed into pajamas, which I found very comfortable and stylish.
After sleeping for several hours, I woke up just after we passed over Alaska.
I ordered a “sandwich” off the menu, which the flight attendant said was served warm. It turned out to be a pastrami Reuben…a delicious one. I don’t think I’ve ever had pasrami on rye on an airplane! I enjoyed an iced capucino with it and some cookies.
There were still many hours left in the flight and unfortunately, the inflight entertainment library was rather meager.
Two hours before landing, a light meal was served. I was glad I had eaten the sandwich, because the salmon was quite dry and tasteless (though nicely presented). It was preceded by another green salad and proceeded by fruit and one more coffee.
The poor salmon aside, I quite enjoyed the food on this flight.
A couple oddities and a couple more negatives about the flight.
First, there were two pilots in first class, taking the prime 1A and 1K seats…it appears Korean Air uses the first class cabin for pilot rest, even though my understanding is the 747-8 has pilot bunks on the upper deck.
Second, while I truly found the service outstanding overall, I wish the flight attendants would be trained on how to properly present wine. Instead of offering a taste and then holding the bottle up while I sampled it, it was just poured out (I asked for the pictures above). It’s a missed opportunity to really provide a first class experience proactively.
As for the negatives, the cabin was very cold after takeoff, such that I put a day blanket around me. When the flight attendant saw that I was cold, she said, “I’ll make it warmer!”
No, no, no!
I knew that would backfire and sure enough, the cabin became like a sauna during the middle of the flight. Even though there was an individual air nozzle in the first class suite (which I had on full blast), I struggled to sleep (and eventually requested the temperature be turned back down, which it was though the cabin never cooled off).
While it is nice to unplug sometimes, I find the lack of Wi-Fi onboard wholly unacceptable for 2025. Going over 15 hours without wi-fi made me understand what it must feel like for smokers who have to go so long without a cigarette…it’s just too long and the flight was in the middle of my work day.
I have to admit, I could not wait to get off that aircraft so that I could check-in with my family, office, and associates…and that may be more a reflection on me than on Korean Air, but a leading airline should offer wi-fi.
CONCLUSION
It was a beautiful evening as we approached Seoul Incheon.
Overall, though, I thought the flight was very nice…it was what I expected (I didn’t expect wi-fi…) and I thought the food and service was great overall. I’m not in a rush to book first class again on Korean Air, but I did very much enjoy the experience.
I’ll have a lot more details in my full flight review.
I think United is serving Shafet TD-9 in Polaris…
AA provides Boons Farm apple. AA just sucks @ customer appreciation.
They currently have MD 20/20 on all flights out of Philly.
I quit smoking well over a decade ago but nonetheless appreciate the analogy about Wi-Fi and smoking.
“I don’t think I’ve ever had pasrami on rye on an airplane!”
I’ve only had this one other time, on a DL regional jet flight out of LGA of all things. It wasn’t a Reuben, but it was still rather delicious.
Iberia do a good Pastrami on rye in their lounge in MAD.
Thanks – I’ll be flying through there in May and will check it out.
I don’t get idea of initial review and full later on. I never read second review for the same thing. Also „short” seems detailed enough as far as I am concerned.
You can read whatever you want. Some people like just the overview, as these posts provide, while some like details about things like the amenity kit, lavatory, IFE selection, and every item on the menu. Feel free to read only what you’re interested in…
The point is reusing the material so that they can have more clicks and serve more ads
you went to Korea again? you must’ve really liked it there. are you gonna hit another round of tacos?
I connected right to Hong Kong because I hear they have great Mexican food on Kowloon.
Glad you were able to fly the “Queen of the Skies” with KE. It’s always a treat.
Should “proceeded” be “succeeded”?
ATL-ICN is NOT the longest flight in the world. JFK-ICN is longer. Why do I keep see people fibbing to claim this?? I guess if you need it, take it…
JFK-ICN is 6,906 miles.
ATL-ICN is 7,152 miles.
Am I missing something?
A robust thorough review with criticism. Good read.
The bibimbap is so good
I had a friend who took it recently and said it was horrible. I thought about asking for it for the second meal, but didn’t want to push my luck.
You beat me to it. I agree, almost as good as some that I’ve had in Mom & Pop hole in the wall restaurants across Korea.
Is KE F ever bookable with partner miles? I wouldn’t mind spending some of my SAS million on this!
Not bookable.
Hello Matt- well done sir. What was the ticket cost, in US$?
80,000 miles for me…but would have been over $8K out of pocket (not that I would have ever paid that).
What was the aircraft registration of the Boeing 747-8 that you flew on to Seoul? I’m just wondering because you didn’t share the aircraft registration.
HL7638
Thanks for this review.
I appreciated reading you highlighting pros and cons. It’s typically a Business Class catering + Caviar.
It definitely underlines that KE is not the best Airline in the world according to a recent ridiculous and biased ranking.
Damn, Matthew’s biceps are looking swole.
Agree. Sexy hair, too!
A flight in the nose of the increasingly rare Queen of the Skies. Covet the experience…
Woof. Handsome pics. :p
There is nothing worse than an overheated cabin.
I would love to fly first class for 15.5 hours on either JL or KE. The service and attention to detail has to be amazing.
I used to work as corporate travel agent near DTW would occasionally book clients on DL DTW▶️ICN▶️DTW
Great review! These are the types of articles that i really appreciate.
I “believe” the bibimbap is the same in first / business class and though tasty, might not be worth the calories when there are F only options.
Wow. The first class cabin looks exactly like typical offices cubicles. SMH smh smh
It’s true, though my office chair doesn’t transform into a lie-flat bed! 😉