I flew on Korean Air B747-8 from Atlanta to Seoul Incheon in First Class. This is currently the longest Boeing 747 flight in the world with an average flight time of 15-16 hours.
Video
The Longest 747 Flight
Note the seat map shows a generous Economy pitch of 33-34″.
My seat was 2A in the nose of the 747. Check out the Korean Air First Class Suite (Kosmo Suite II) and its amenities.
The aircraft registration was HL7636, a 7 year old B747 manufactured in 2015.
We push back on time and with a short taxi to Runway 27L for takeoff.
Flight time was 15 hours 11 minutes which is rather short considering some days this flight takes over 16 hours due to the strong headwind on Westbound and no Russian airspace overfly. Here is the current route map without flying over Russia.
Watch the awesome 747 takeoff from the forward wing in my video.
Beautiful shape of the 747-8 curved wing.
After takeoff, flight service started promptly. I went to Economy Class to see the meal preparation. There is Korean bibimbap across all classes from First to Economy. The other choice was beef in red wine sauce. The meal tray size was huge, I am glad to see Korean Air didn’t cut corners in Economy as many other airlines serve you a smaller tray with an optical illusion of having more food on the tray.
First Class Dining
The First Class dining experience on Korean Air is phenomenal. There are 7 courses like the proper First Class service.
The meal was huge, possibly the biggest portion I’ve ever had in First Class. I noticed the tablecloth and dish-wear were getting quite old. Interestingly, Korean Air does not have a service plate to enhance the dining experience. The table was huge but the dishes were too small in the proportion to the table.
The efficiency of Korean Air crew was a huge plus. They managed to serve 6 First Class passengers full lunch within 2 hours.
We crossed the Canadian border and continue heading toward Alaska and the Pacific Ocean.
The Rest of the flight
After full lunch, it is time to shut eye and rest. The Korean Air Kosmo Suite II can convert into a fully enclosed suite. There is plenty of space and width on the seats making this a larger First Class suite than others.
Row 1A and 1J are the most private pair seats in First Class right up the nose. While Row 3A and 3J have the biggest separation due to the 747 curvature. There are no bad seats in First Class.
At around mid-flight, I ordered a Korean Ramen. This is officially the best in-flight snack I’ve ever tried. It is warm and tasty which makes your body feel comfortable and sleepy again! There is spicy and non-spicy version.
The rest of the flight was spent watching IFE. I particularly enjoyed the KALMAN vlog which features Korean Air staff (they call them KALMAN) showing behind the scenes at their job.
Korean Air 747-8 has a fairly outdated IFE and does not have Wi-Fi connectivity yet which is becoming a necessity for 15 hours+ flights. Before arrival dinner was served about 2 hours prior to landing, I had the beef bourguignon but it was fairly dry.
We landed about 30 minutes ahead of schedule. The total flight time was 15 hours and 10 minutes. Watch the landing on my video.
For many of us, the journey itself is the most exciting part of the travel. Korean Air B747-8 First Class is one fine example of luxury travel with a fully enclosed private suite, fine dining, amenities and attentive service. The only thing missing is the Wi-Fi connectivity to make the experience perfect.
Currently, Korean Air flies the 747-8 between Incheon and Atlanta, New York JFK and Honolulu.
Excellent coverage of a top service first class.
Should wearing a mask still be essential 3 years later?
Breathing in your own CO2 for that long can’t be healthy.
Long live the B747-800 in passenger service!
The most outrageous thing about paying in cash for Korean first-class is the lounge or lack thereof. There’s just no excuse that they use the Delta Sky Club in Atlanta. You don’t even get champagne in the Sky Club, unless you pay. As much as I’d like to fly the 747 again, I’m glad I flew seat 1-A on Delta and Northwest many times before Delta (stupidly) eliminated the 747. I couldn’t imagine paying for Korean first. If I’m dropping that kind of money, I’m doing Air France first or Emirates.
I did this same flight but in reverse from Incheon to Atlanta. Seat 1A. For my first overseas first class experience ever and to do it on the Queen of the skies in that magical seat forward of the pilots and with four gorgeous windows to look out below the beautiful world below, it was absolutely the highlight of my 1.3MM flight mile career thus far. Worth the money to upgrade for what may be a once in a lifetime experience. Thank you Sam for your video review that helped to prepare for my trip.
I live in Atlanta, and would fly Korean Air but 15 hours with no wifi = no way, and their prices are exorbitant. Other ways to get to Asia in First.
Thank you Sam for the terrific inflight tour of Korean Air and her mighty Boeing 747-8! The Korean Air crew are superb professionals and top of their class. Keep on flying and sharing your memories and your happy and most respectful air-vlog presentations.
Just curious to know if you booked your flight using miles/points and which loyalty program you used – I have not found any award space for Korean Air
I was on a paid ticket for a business trip. (Business expense)
Korean Air First Class availability is scarce (Look for A class) but last minute I’ve seen on some date occasionally available on SFO or ATL route.
You are making me hungry, Sam. Cabin attendents & foods are what I like about airlines of Taiwan, Japan, & South Korea, and what I dislike about airlines of many other places. BTW, a YouTube video posted by “日テレNEWS” on 02/06/2023 with the title of “【発見！】こんなところに名店が!? 味も”味わい”も満点な人気店『every.特集』” is showing a restaurant that every aviatio geeks would love — windows literally next to the taxiways of Tokyo Haneda Airport.
Sweet review. Thanks. Oh, strange question here but were you offered caviar with dinner as well as lunch? I don’t think I’ve heard of any airline serving caviar with multiple meals but it’d be interesting to know.
Caviar was served only once.