Charles de Gaulle. The aircraft was the HL7613 (construction number 56) who flew for the first

Transcription

1 Korean Air Airbus 380 Flight review By Korean Air Virtual Last July 25 th we eventually flew on the (real) Korean Air 380, from Seoul Incheon Airport to Paris Charles de Gaulle. The aircraft was the HL7613 (construction number 56) who flew for the first time on feb. 16 th 2011 and was delivered to KA on Aug The boarding was done through three fingers, one for each class: business on the second floor, first and economy on the first floor. With only 407 seats, Korean Air is so far the airline with less seats on the 380, leaving more room for people and a duty free sales shop. The plane is remarkably quite, and once at flight cruise level you really feel it is less noisy than the 747 and 777 that KA used to operate on this route before.

2 There is plenty of knee room even on economy seats ( I am 1m 70cm). The seats look thin but are comfortable enough. They are 1inch wider and get more pitch than the Lufthansa 380 economy seats. The first class seats on the front area of the first floor are huge, such as the screens, the windows, and everything else on the plane. We could not visit business class seats thought, flight attendants don t like much passengers moving around the plane and they don t allow them to go through first or business curtains during the flight. First class was pretty empty in our flight (2 passengers only I believe). There is no difference with other Korean Air long haul flights food wise, with western or Korean menu choice.

3 I think the route is the same of previous aircrafts, in day flights with good weahter you get nice views of lake Baikal and northern Europe coast. Through the huge windows you can see the huge engines hanging from the huge wings. Actually, the wing is so long and heavy that when the plane is on the tarmac you cannot see the winglet in the wing tip through the window. However, once on the air the wing will bend up, the wingtip rises and you can see it from your seat. You can follow the entire flight (including take off and landing) through three cameras: forward view, downward view and tail view (the most interesting since you can see the whole plane manouvering and the flaps moving). Banking left preparing CDG approach:

4 View of Paris approaching CDG. Depending on the STAR you may be able to see some take off or landing on the Bourget airport (LFPB) On final to CDG: it is very nice to follow the approach and touch down with the tail camera. You can actually see the plane s nose drifting away the runway when there is some cross wind.

5 Quitting the plane does require more time than the 777, especially since first & business passenger are given priority. Many of business second floor passengers descend to the first floor by the nose stairs and quit the plane through the front door. All economy travelers must wait until first and business is almost empty this is annoying after an 11h flight with young children. (you just want to exit as soon as possible). The aircraft for the trip back to Seoul was the HL7628, construction number 156, and it is actually the tenth and last 380 arrived to KA. It flew for the first time on march 5 th 2014, and it was delivered on july 28 th. Thought it was almost new, there was no significant less noise than the 3,6 years old HL7516 flew in the ICN CDG The aircraft retrieving catering in CDG just before the flight: For safety reasons a less than 2 year old children cannot take off seated on his own seat in the European airlines, such as Air France ( you have to hold it and use a special baby seat belt attached to yours). There is not such a thin in KA.

6 Night take off from Paris. The acceleration feels smooth, just like the rotation and initial climb. You barely feel the plane moving compared to others. The approach to Incheon from the west.

7 Lining up with 33R for landing. Check the flaps down. Getting to the gate. (Flaps up). The HL7628 getting some well-deserved rest upon arrival to ICN.

8 Overall speaking, from the passenger point of view, the A380 does feel comfortable and very quiet in the cabin, and in the Korean Air configuration there is plenty of room even in economy. The service you get is just the same than any other Korean Air long haul flight: very good. When it comes to operate the plane from the company or pilots point of view, I think the good old 747 still have its place. I remember landing on the 16L of Haneda in a Korean Air 747 three years ago, and I am not sure the A380 would easily admit the pretty steep left bank turn just before touchdown you really feel like the left wing will touch the water There is also a number of delicate airports, such as the high elevation Mexico city, where Lufthansa flies the new instead of the A380 and who could forget the impressive videos of the Korean Air 747 landing in the old Kai Tak with heavy cross winds