Hey guys!

Today I’m sharing my experience flying Asiana Airlines from Los Angeles to Siem Reap, Cambodia via Seoul-Incheon. This flight was part of a three week trip to Cambodia and Vietnam during the Summer of 2016, which I’ve been late to share. This was my first time on an Asian airline, and my expectations were high prior to the flight. My family and I arrived at LAX Airport around 9:30am for the 12:10 flight. This was my first time flying out of the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX, and it was certainly much nicer than United’s Terminal 7, which I usually travel to. There were many check-in desks, a sign of the dozens of airlines that depart from TBIT. I would say after JFK, LAX is the airport with the second greatest number of international destinations in the US.

Check-in area of Tom Bradley International Terminal.

The international terminal had tons of stores, lounges, and food options. There was an abundance of duty-free shopping, which seemed to be very popular for the tourists leaving LA.

Duty free area of the Tom Bradley International Terminal.

The flight started boarding around 11:15am. I was stunned by the sheer mass of people queing for boarding in this terminal. There were several flights departing LAX within the hour of my Asiana flight, with each of them having at least 300 passengers. Some flights, including my flight to Seoul, had nearly 500 people all lined up for boarding. This was shocking to me, I had never seen such congestion in an airport terminal. My flight, OZ201, was operated by an Airbus A380, the world’s largest passenger airplane. This was not my first time on an A380, after my flights on Air France and Lufthansa the year before, but I was just as excited as I was my first two times flying on the A380. The boarding process was surprisingly civil despite the number of passengers on the flight. Unfortunately, I don’t have any pictures to help you visualize how packed the flight was. We departed on time, with clear weather, after a rather quick boarding process, for an international flight at least. My seat was actually quite comfortable for the 13 and a half hour flight. I noticed how friendly the flight attendants were almost immediately. They greeted me very warmly and all whom I spoke to had amazing abilities in English. About an hour after takeoff, the first meal service began. First, the flight attendants came around with drinks. I chose water, in an attempt to stay hydrated on the flight. They then came around with food, giving passengers a choice of a Western option and a traditional Korean one. I went for the Korean option of Bibimbap, which I absolutely did not regret. I have never really eaten Korean food, and all I can say is it was delicious. It was served in components, with white rice separate from the meat and vegetables of the dish. You then add the ingredients in a ratio to your liking. Super cool! The Bibimbap was fantastic and had great seasoning. The gochujang (red pepper paste) served with the meal complimented the tastes perfectly. The meal was also served with a Korean sponge cake, which I did not know the name of, and a Kit Kat bar. The cake was interesting, but not necessarily the flavors I would associate with a dessert. Regardless, the meal was a great cultural experience and made me really want to visit South Korea.

I was really satisfied with my meal on Asiana and had never had food as good flying in coach. I was really impressed by the food and efficient, yet friendly service.

After the meal, I settled back into my seat for some movies. The IFE system had a TON of new releases and other Western movies and TV shows. There was also some interesting content of Korea, such as a “Traveler’s Guide to Speaking Korean.” I watched this series and tried to practice saying thank you and goodbye with the flight attendants. I find whenever you visit a new county, regardless of your knowledge or ability to speak the local language, the people really appreciate your attempts to communicate with them in their mother tongue. Asiana definitely does a good job marketing Korea to foreign passengers transiting in Seoul, like myself. If I remember correctly, this was actually part of a “Visit Korea” campaign the airline was partnering with in 2016. In addition to attempting to teach myself some Korean, I watched 10 Cloverfield Lane, which was absolutely fantastic. One of my favorite movies of all time. I had never seen it before and was blown away by the intricate psychological thrills it provided. The A380 has great moonlighting and it made me really sleepy after the meal. It was an excellent touch; I love that more and more aircraft these days have colorful lighting to help passengers adjust to the time changes which come with long-haul travel.

I promptly fell asleep for about 6-7 hours, a good amount considering I was flying in economy class. By the time I woke up, we were only about three hours out of Seoul, approaching the coast of Japan. At this point, we were served our second meal, which was a sort of lunch. I choose the pork with kimchi. Again, it was truly delicious and flavorful for an economy class meal. The main dish was served with sides of salad and fruit. The spices and flavor of the meal actually helped me wake up and adjust to the local time.

Breakfast/lunch service onboard Asiana Airlines.

I watched a few episodes of Modern Family as we approached the shores of South Korea. The flight went by surprisingly fast for a trans-pacific long-haul. We touched down around 4:45 pm in Seoul on the next calendar day, having crossed the international dateline. The landing was smooth and we taxied to our gate relatively quickly.

I was super impressed with my experience on Asiana, particularly with the level of service and terrific food. I would absolutely fly with Asiana again. Check out my upcoming post on my experience transiting through Incheon Airport and connecting to Siem Reap, Cambodia. Thanks for reading!

Airlines

Asiana Airlines A380 Economy Class