Review: Korean Air A380-800 Economy Class

With a comfortable seat, excellent service, and great food, my Korean Air A380-800 flight from Seoul to Los Angeles was one of the best longhaul economy class flights I have ever flown.

Korean Air A380-800 Economy Class Review (ICN-LAX)

I’d somehow managed to avoid Korean Air all these years of flying and this was my first longhaul flight on the carrier, part of a cheap 399 USD ticket from Shanghai to Los Angeles via Seoul. I knew there would be no internet onboard, but little else about what awaited me onboard, but I was pleasantly surprised.

Before the flight, I visited the Korean Air Lounge in ICN T2 and showed up early at the gate because my boarding pass had “SSSS” on it (meaning “Secondary Security Screening Selection”). Because of the SSSS, I was allowed to board early and directed to a table near the jetbridge where my carry-on bags were carefully checked by security personnel.

Korean Air 017
Seoul (ICN) – Los Angeles (LAX)
November 2024
Depart: 02:30 PM
Arrive: 08:30 AM+1
Duration: 11hr, 00min
Distance: 5,994 miles
Aircraft: Airbus A380-800
Seat: 33J (Economy Class)

We stepped onboard door 2L on the lower level, with the first class to the left and economy class to the right (the upper deck is all business class and has two lounges and a duty-free store).

Seat

Economy class contains 301 seats in a 3-4-3 configuration. Seats were slightly wider than average at 18.1 inches legroom was 33 inches…very respectable for “standard” economy.

The seat was well-padded and the legroom was excellent.

Each seat had a universal A/C outlet under the seat, and the seatback had a USB-A port.

No individual air vents, though.

The flight was full and so I wound up in a middle seat while Augustine got the window. There was a woman about my age seated on the aisle and I had to laugh that the crew assumed we were together…they asked her about Augstine’s eating preference and whether he needed headphones or an extra blanket!

I’m never going to be able to sleep well in economy class, but I did manage a little rest during the transpacific crossing. Augustine slept quite well.

Amenities

Korean Air is very much a full-service carrier and I appreciated the small touches that made the flight a bit more enjoyable.

As we boarded, headphones were offered (they were offered again onboard for those who had neglected to pick them up or not brought their own). As far as disposable headphones go, these were excellent ones.

My son Augustine (and other children onboard) received high-quality over-ear headphones (for use during the flight), another nice touch.

He also was presented with a funny activity kit.

Each seat contained a small amenity kit with slippers and a dental kit.

Blankets, pillows, and a water bottle were also placed on each seat.

Food + Drink

Lunch was served after takeoff, followed by a midflight snack, and breakfast before landing. You will not go hungry on Korean Air.

Lunch service began with a choice of beverage. Alcohol is available at no extra charge, though I stuck to water. For our first meal, Augustine had a chicken curry with rice while I had French-style braised beef…both were served with a side salad topped with shrimp, bread, and cake.

Augustine enjoyed his meal:

And I enjoyed mine, which tasted quite “French” in terms of the red wine sauce:

A very respectable lunch. I was actually hoping for bibimap, which Korean Air has traditionally served on flights out of Seoul, but it was not a menu option in economy class.

Corn dogs were served mid-flight…apparently a delicacy in South Korea and the new midflight snack option when noodles in boiling water were deemed too risky due to the chance of unforecast turbulence.

Two hours prior to landing, a full breakfast was served with a Korean choice or eggs with bacon, potatoes, and cooked spinach. Also on the tray: strawberry yogurt, sliced fruit (apple and orange), and yogurt.

Note too that Korean Air uses metal cutlery in economy class.

I thought the food was outstanding onboard for economy class and I know my seatmate “spouse” agreed.

Augustine slept through the midflight snack and pre-arrival breakfast.

Service

A special thanks to Miss Ye, who took care of our side of the cabin and was attentive and so kind throughout the flight. At the end of the flight, she even said, “It has been an honor to have you with us today.” All the cabin crew I interacted with were excellent.

One small gripe: the lights were turned on in the middle of the night for the cron dog service. That was totally unnecessary: a better approach would have been to leave the lights dimmed and check the cabin for those who may have been awake and wanted a snack. Many people, including me, were woken up.

Lavatory

The A380 economy class cabin on Korean Air has one lavatory in the front of the cabin next to door 2L, four between the first and second economy class cabins, and two more behind the third cabin (row 59).

IFE + Wi-Fi

My biggest gripe about this flight was the lack of Wi-Fi onboard…it’s 2025 and Korean Air still has no inflight connectivity. While I was able to prepare beforehand, it is simply uncompetitive not to offer this onboard and it really confuses me why such a tech-savvy country like South Korea would not offer wi-fi on its flights (Asiana does not either).

The seatback monitor had an older system with a below-average selection of movies, TV shows, games, and music. I kept my screen on the tailcam or moving flight map for most of the flight.

CONCLUSION

We flew over Los Angeles (and the Korean Air building) on approach to LAX, landing ahead of schedule on runway 24R.

Passport control lines were quite long (Augustine does not have Global Entry) but we were soon our way to my car…having had quite a week of travel.

As far as longhaul economy class flights go, my Korean Air A380 flight in economy class from Seoul to Los Angeles was excellent…with the exception of Wi-Fi onboard. I’d gladly fly Korean Air again.

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