Experiencing Korean Air Excelence

CEBU, Philippines - The invitation came from Korean Air for a trip to Paris was made more exciting as we changed planes at Incheon to the fabulous Airbus 380-800, the biggest commercial airliner in the World. I have seen the Airbus 380 only once when I was headed for Jakarta and made a stopover in Singapore. Now I was flying to Paris on the Airbus 380. Yes, this article is about Korean Air's motto, "Excellence in Flight.

For this trip, we were accompanied by Mr. Hyung Soo Kim regional Manager of Korean Air and Mrs. Ann Momongan Sales Executive. The tours were arranged by Mrs. Aida Lim Uy of Fortune Travel and in the group were SunStar Daily's Mrs. Nelia Neri (with hubby Atty. Julius Neri), Mr. Allan and Penny Carvajal of Travelways International, Mrs. Cathy Uy (wife of my friend Mitchell) of Manila Fortune Travel, accompanied by Ms. Audrey Tiu, Mr. Nelson and Angelita Dy of Grand Hope Travel, Ms. Cherry Pie Callelero of Grand Holiday Travel, Mrs. Jeanne Teh of Global Link Travel (wife of Andrew) Mrs. Mila Espina of Amazing Cebu and Gwen Po of Pan Pacific Travel. My wife Jessica and daughter Katrina were with me. Master Christian Uy, Aida's well-behaved grandson, also came with the group.

At Incheon International Airport from the 4-hour flight from Cebu, we proceeded to the Prestige Class Lounge of Korean Air. This is the Business Traveler's Lounge that truly pampers the passengers. Korean Air's motto "Excellence in Flight" means "Excellence" even if you have not even boarded the airplane. Wi-Fi is fast and free is in this lounge and there is an area where you can have a bath while waiting for your flight or simply watch TV or enjoy the free meals offered.

The Airbus 380-800 is the biggest aircraft in any airport tarmac. To fly this humongous aircraft, it needs four enormous and powerful engines. Yet it produces less cabin noise. The Prestige Class seat has two other options from its regular seating position. One touch of a button can make it recline half-way; or touch another button, and it becomes flat like a bed so you can sleep soundly. 

For those insomniacs, the Entertainment TV gives you a host of options, showing the latest movies, comedies and documentaries or if you sim-ply want to listen to music, you can choose from a variety of music CD's from classical all the way to contemporary music, all within a touch of a button. This feature is also available in the economy class.

What I found quite interesting was the Skymap. What amazed me was that it not only has the usual digital mapping of the airplanes route, (flying from Incheon, avoiding North Korea by flying to Dalian, Beijing… Moscow, Copenhagen then Paris) it also has a feature I never found in other airplanes, a video camera showing the view from the nose of the aircraft, one facing the ground and one high up in the tail where you can see the entire airplane. It was quite fun to use, especially during take-off and landing.

The Korean Air Airbus A-380 has the biggest toilets I have ever seen in a plane. The entire upper deck is for the Prestige Class, while first class occupies the nose area and the rest is for economy. Yes this plane can carry 550 passengers, or even more, depending on its configuration. The long 11-hour flight from Incheon to Charles de Gaulle International Airport was made extra comfortable in Korean Air's Prestige Class which has a Celestial Bar if you were bored on your seat and yes, some planes even have a Duty Free showcase for you to shop. Fly Korean Air and experience true Excellence in Flight!

For your travel details, please contact Korean Air Room S203-01H at the Mactan Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA) or call Tel (63)32340-6184 and look for Mrs. Ann Momongan Sales Executive. For travel arrangements, contact Mrs. Aida Uy of Fortune Travel at 0917-320-2575.