Retro Review: Asiana B777 Business Class, London-Seoul

Asiana B777 business class, London to Seoul

Flight: OZ522
Departure time in London Heathrow (LHR): 21:00
Arrival time in Seoul Incheon (ICN): 16:50 (+1 day)
Aircraft: Boeing 777-200
Seat: 5K
Duration: 10h 50m
Date of flight: December 21, 2013
*This is an award ticket, Business Class flight #42


Video from my YouTube Channel 📺

Check-in, Zone K

The Asiana check in desks are located in Zone K of Terminal 1 which is a bit secluded, together with other airlines like Aegean, TAP and Transareo.

The check in desks for economy class passengers had a long queue while the business class was empty when I came to the check- in area.

Star Alliance Lounge

After checking in and getting my boarding cards, I went straight to the Star Alliance Lounge where I had my shower and light dinner.

Aircraft, Boeing 777-200

The beautiful Boeing 777-200 bound for Seoul that night.

Boarding, Gate B29

Boarding started on time (8:30PM) at Gate B29.

Business Class Cabin, Smartium Class

Business class cabin

The business class cabin has a 1-2-1 configuration with the latest Quadra Smartium seats. This is actually identical to the business class seats of Thai Airways on their Airbus 380-800, in my opinion. That night, 21 of the 24 seats were occupied.

View of the cabin from my seat

Seat 5K

My lovely seat 5K, which turns into a fully flat bed 👍

Personal screen

Spacious legroom, and of course the ottoman serves as part of the bed when the seat is in full recline.

The pillow, duvet and slippers.

The entertainment controls and the seat controls.

The headset was pretty basic. From the movie selection, I decided to watch Lone Ranger and Despicable Me 2.

Safety instruction card

The personal foldable table tray, again similar to Thai Airways on the Airbus 380-800.

The reading lamp on the right hand side of the seat is helpful in case you want to have some reading later.

L´Occitane Amenity Kit

The amenity kit consisted of L'Occitane skin care products, eyeshade, earplugs, a comb and a toothbrush/toothpaste.

Pre-departure Beverage

As soon as the passengers were seated, the cabin crew started serving water and orange juice. I decided to have a glass of water instead.

Immigration Card

After a few minutes, the cabin crews started distributing Arrival Cards as well as the Customs Declaration cards. Since I was just transiting in Seoul, I didn't really need them although I asked the attendant if I could take a picture of the tray she was holding and she did not hesitate at all.

Afterwards, the newspaper and magazine trolley came. Also, the assistant purser, Mina came to my seat and introduced herself as being in charge of the cabin and informed me that I could call her in case I would be needing something. Lastly, the hot towels were also distributed. About five minutes after the scheduled take off, the captain came to the PA and informed us of the flight time of 10 hours. Some 25 minutes later, the captain apologized for the delay due to traffic, with five aircraft ahead of us.

Dining

I loved the cover design of the menu card as well as the wine list 😉

Dinner

The table set up was done perfectly and for my drinks, I ordered a glass of guava juice since it is my favorite juice. The champagne on board was the Piper-Heidsieck Brut. They also had different kinds of wines, beers, the Korean rice wine"Makgeolli", and non alcoholic beverages. For dinner, one could choose between the Korean meal which consisted of the famous dish, Bibimbap or the international meal. I love Bibimbap and enjoyed it many times when I was in South Korea a few years ago but I had to settle for a non-Korean meal on board.

Appetizer: Tuna Nicoise

Soup: Mushroom Cream Soup

Main course: Beef Tenderloin Steak Served with Green Peppercorn Sauce, Duchess Potato, Red Onion, Carrot and Broccoli 😋

The other choices were "Steamed Hake Fish" and "Pecan and Maple Crusted Chicken Breast".

Cheese: Camembert and Stilton

Dessert: Chocolate Toffee Cake, Tea

And just before dimming the lights in the cabin, the flight attendants distributed bottles of mineral water.

Turndown Service

Lavatory

The business class cabin has two lavatories located in the forward left side of the cabin. On the right side was the small galley where the crews have prepared all the meals for the flight. Inside the lavatory, there were L'Occitane skin care products as well as toothbrush/toothpaste and combs.

The lavatory was always kept clean.

Snacks

Besides the main courses, one could request light snacks throughout the flight which consisted of sandwich, seasonal fresh fruit, ramen and scones. I was either sleeping or watching films in between so I didn't have the time to try any of these.

Lunch

After having a short good night´s sleep, it was time for the second serving.

Appetizer: Smoked Duck, Sun-dried Tomatoes and Raisin Salad

Main Course: Braised  Chicken Served with Oriental Sauce, Stir-fried vegetables and Fried Rice 😋

The other choices were Mixed Seafood with saffron sauce served with Linguini Pasta or Korean Porridge Sogogi Chaeso Juk, a rice porridge with beef and vegetables.

The trolley with fresh fruits and coffee/tea.

A small bowl of fresh fruit is just what I needed to invigorate me 😉

Shortly after having my late lunch, I was handed a customer's comments card. Of course, I only had good things to write about this flight!

CONCLUSION

Asiana has once again delivered excellent service and very good food on this flight. I love the fact that the cabin attendants were so professional and yet friendly, and that they really took care of me. In case you are traveling from Europe to North Asia, Asiana Airlines is highly recommended. Kamsahamnida, Asiana 😍