Flight: Asiana Airlines OZ 522

Departure airport: London Heathrow (LHR)

Arrival airport: Seoul Incheon (ICN)

Aircraft: B777-200ER (On Check My Trip it showed as -300ER although the plane was actually a -200ER. Asiana uses 77W as the abbreviation for their 777-200ER fitted with First Class Suites)

Date: 14th October 2016

ETD: 2050hr

This is my first time flying with Asiana B777-200ER.  Since I have managed to re-qualify my BA Executive Gold (oneworld Emerald) this year, I was toying with the idea of qualifying for StarAlliance Gold via Aegean Airlines with only 24000 Tier Miles (+4 Aegean Airlines flights). This is the easiest way to get gold for StarAlliance as other airlines would ask between 40000-50000 tier miles for it. I am already a StarAlliance Gold for this year through status matching with Avianca Brazil but that will run out in March 2017.

Check In: I arrived at about 1700hr at Heathrow Terminal 2 via Heathrow Central Bus Station. I took the National Express bus from Gatwick Airport and the journey took me about an hour. There was no queue at the Business Class check-in desk, so it only took me about 5 mins to check my luggage in straight through to HNL. The agent told me that there might be a delay of 30mins due to the late arrival of the aircraft. After I cleared security, I made my way to the Singapore Airlines Lounge and then on to United Airlines Lounge (which was recommended by the agent, the one I should use). I will review these 2 lounges later.

Boarding: Boarding time was at about 2020hr and there was a separate line for the premium class passengers. I was directed to my seat by the stewardess (seat 5A).

The seat: The seat is called Smartium, 180-degrees reclining bed-type seat. The staggered direct aisle lie-flat seat is equipped with USB, power outlet, foldable arm & small storage space for your shoes. This is very similar to the hard product offered by Iberia.

The flight: We left Heathrow at 2119hr and the journey to ICN took approximately 11hrs. The dinner order was taken after the seat belt sign was switched off. I chose the Western meal for my dinner as below:

I opted for the tenderloin steak which was superb, cooked to my liking.

I managed to sleep for about 7hrs, only to be woken up by the stewardess taking orders for breakfast/snack. I chose the porridge as I was still quite full from dinner. I didn’t get the time to watch any movies as I was really tired after all that travelling straight after work.

The clean up was done about an hour before landing.

Arrival: I arrived at ICN at 1604hr local time. I made my way to the transit area and headed straight for the Asiana Business Class Lounge. My next connecting flight was at 2020hr, so I have plenty of time to mooch around.

Verdict: I would definitely fly with Asiana again and I really enjoyed the flight. The staff/stewardesses were very pleasant and willing to help. They were polite and approachable and I don’t have any qualms why they voted 5-star airlines by Skytrax.