UNITED! Y U DELAY MY FLIGHT SO LONG?
Back at Narita Airport. Hey, it’s a Korean Air A380!
Because our flight wasn’t a “real” flight (it was scheduled for yesterday), we didn’t have a gate. So we got on this shuttle and drove waaaaaaaaaaay out on the tarmac to board the plane. (You can see the shuttle ride in the video above.)
Our not-so-fixed plane.
The first class seats. The first class section was empty — I assume they just don’t bother selling seats in First for such a short (2.5 hours) hop to Seoul.
Our business class seats that we sat in for approximately half an hour. It was almost comical when the pilot announced that there was another mechanical problem with the plane and that they were waiting for a part. Sixteen hours after our flight was supposed to take off, we got back on the shuttle and headed back to the terminal.
We raced back to the lounge to try to get on another airline because we had pretty much given up on that United flight ever taking off. We ended up getting rebooked on Asiana Airlines. IN SEAT 1K! ON A 747!
Why is seat 1K on a 747 so awesome? BECAUSE IT’S IN THE NOSE CONE! Here’s the 747 we were on — see the window at very front of the plane, beneath the cockpit? That’s where we were sitting. You’re so close to the front, you can almost see forwards. It’s basically an airplane nerd’s dream. AND I AM AN AIRPLANE NERD.
Mike is smug again.
Hello, comfy seat.
Trying to take a photo that shows how massive the aisle is in first class. You could probably drive a car through the cabin. And if you’re wondering why we were in first instead of business, it’s because the first class cabin on this flight was also empty (like the United one above) so Asiana used it to accomodate all the business class passengers from my United flight. Win!
Sitting at the front was cool because you get all the windows and because there’s no cockpit in front of you. The cockpit is upstairs.
Seriously! This aisle!
WINDOWS GALORE!
The empty space at the front was a closet.
Pre-take-off orange juice.
Pretty excited that we were actually on a flight that was going to take off.
Goodbye, Narita!
Japan from the air.
I love a good duty free catalogue. And Asiana’s was good. Fat like a phone book.
They even had one of my favourite Korean BB creams!
Mt. Fuji from the air. So pretty.
It was only a 2.5 hour flight but included a meal. There was a Korean option and a non-Korean option. (I don’t remember what the non-Korean option was, because obviously I picked the Korean meal.)
Ssambab! Not fancy, but seriously one of the BEST meals I’ve ever had on a plane.
Mmm, kimchi.
Soup
Bulgogi beef and rice. You put the beef and rice in a lettuce leaf, add some chili paste, and roll the whole thing up. Stuff it in your mouth and feel happy.
I drank my green tea and watched some K-pop concerts on the IFE. Really, my life doesn’t get much better than that.
Almost there!
South Korea from the air.
Mike looks very relaxed.
Almost 24 hours after we were supposed to arrive, we were finally landing in Seoul. Annyeong, Seoul!
[...] The food in the United Club was pretty mediocre, but they had some pretty roll cake. The United Club also has a cool Japanese robot beer machine, which you can see in this video from the next entry. [...]
[...] name of, at restaurants that I can’t remember. But! It was really fun in real life. Due to our adventures at Narita Airport, we arrived in Seoul a day late and about an hour before our tour with O’ngo Food started. [...]
[...] of our flight delay, our time in Seoul was really short. Less than a day and a half. So instead of of doing anything [...]
[...] Like the last 747 we were on, there’s just a closet at the front of the plane. (The cockpit is [...]
[...] ordered a bento because I like to try out plane food. Not as good as say, the ssambab on Asiana, but [...]
[...] United Airlines delaying my flight for a million years and causing me to spend way too many hours hanging out in Narita Airport. But it worked out okay — although I missed some stuff in Seoul (like the DMZ tour I’d [...]