Hard product:
On the positive side, the 30 seat 2x2x2 layout with plenty of seat pitch made the cabin look quite spacious. The seat was wide and quite comfortable, and on both directions, on the 6 hour flights, I was able to get a couple of hours sleep.

     The tray table which lifted from the armrest was large and sturdy, and the side table top you share with your neighbouring passenger, had a couple of little pullout trays to rest your drinks. A pouch in front provided room to store small personal items, and coat hanger hook. The IFE handset, reading lamp, universal power points and USB sockets were all located on the side of the seat. The usual pillow, blankets, slippers and headphones were placed at the seat and front compartments, but no amenity kit. However, the overall seating looked out of date and the seats themselves looking like ugly ‘pods’.

     The seat functions were confusing and difficult to use. These did not extent to fully flat beds, rather angle-flat, which did not really bother me that much. The old fashioned looking handset did not work well. The IFE programmes and movies were very limited. I think I counted just seven English movies and the monitor itself did not seem to be high definition, and kept cutting off.

     Onboard service:
On both flights, the cabin was only half full. On boarding the outbound flight, I was pointed towards the direction of my seat, and on the return, escorted and shown to my seat. Courteous, but no smiles (unlike my other Asiana flights cabin crew).

     Pre-departure drinks of orange juice, water or Champaign was served, and quickly followed by hot towels. Dinner on the way out, and breakfast at 11pm on the way back! But what surprised me was that both meals were rushed. The menus were handed out and before I would even leisurely peruse them, they were taken away, which was quite annoying. I would have liked to have had the menus by my side, while dining, so could refer to the wines and courses I was having.

     On both flights, I also requested a pre dinner aperitif, but it was served with the meal, the wine, the desert, all on one tray (except for the main course). On my return flight I asked again for the pre-dinner drink to be served before the meal, which was noted with a smile, but again came with everything on one tray. I don’t know whether there was specific reason for this, as on many other night flights and also Asiana flights, food served was a proper dining experience. It felt like the flight attendants wanted the passengers to eat quickly and go to sleep.

     Still, the food was very tasty, with only one item for desert. Western meal on the way out, and Korean on the way back.  I cannot remember what the Koran dish was. Once the dining service was complete, the cabin crew just ‘disappeared’, and did not show up until landing time and the hot towels were given out.

     Summery:
Although the flight itself was comfortable and there was nothing serious to complain about, the overall experience was rather disappointing. The seating, seat controls, and IFE were simply out of date, and the rushed onboard service was unexpected.