Korean Air serves Canada from Vancouver and Toronto. With connections through Seoul Incheon to cities across China, it has long been a standard way for Chinese travellers in Canada to get home. A few months ago, after Alaska’s mileage program started allowing one-way Korean Air awards, 冰吨吨 used 75,000 AS miles plus under US$64 in taxes to book a Korean Air business-class award from Vancouver to Incheon to Pudong. That is one of the better uses of Alaska miles.

Buying Hawaiian miles with a 100% bonus and transferring them to Alaska currently costs 1.27 cpp USD, which puts this Vancouver–Shanghai Korean Air business-class ticket at US$1,016 — a strong deal.

From 冰吨吨’s own flight, this one was well worth redeeming:

  • The aircraft showed some wear, but it was far from old, and the ride was comfortable.
  • Business class is a 2-2-2 layout. The seat pinched the shoulders a little, but it was comfortable for both lie-flat and recliner positions. I am a light sleeper and still got 3 hours plus another 4 hours of sleep.
  • The flight attendants were polished, professional, and friendly — nothing uncomfortable about the service.
  • The timing works: a late-night departure from Vancouver, a morning arrival in Incheon for a shower and meal in Korean Air’s own lounge, then a midday arrival at Pudong.

Flight details

KE 76 left Vancouver at 12:10 a.m. local time and arrived at Incheon at 4:45 a.m. the next morning, for a flight of about 11 hours 35 minutes.

Korean Air flies the Boeing 787-9 on Vancouver–Incheon. Business class is called Prestige Class, with 4 rows and 24 seats; row 1 has a small extra divider. The cabin is 2-2-2, so seats are a bit narrower than a 1-2-1 business product. If you work out regularly, your shoulders will probably touch both sides when you lie down.

There are three lavatories. The forward one and the aft-left one are spacious; the aft-right one is smaller.

Boarding was at gate 71 in the international pier. Directly across is the SkyTeam Lounge, which Korean Air business class can use. An earlier review:

Airport lounge: SkyTeam Lounge at Vancouver International, YVR

The hard product

You board through the mid-forward door and turn left into business class. That day’s cabin had a very high share of Chinese passengers — more than half.

I chose a window seat. The chair had a pillow, a blanket, and an amenity kit waiting. The photo on the right is the seat fully flat. I slept lie-flat for a while, then spent longer in a reclined position. The seat was very comfortable.

The inner seats have excellent privacy and their own two windows. The divider between the pair can be raised or lowered; with a stranger beside you, you can put it all the way up and avoid an awkward trip.

Behind the welcome drink is where the cocktail table tucks away. The control panel is easy to use: the top row has three preset positions that move automatically with one tap, so you do not have to hold the button. The buttons below fine-tune individual seat sections and stop when you let go. The bottom button raises and lowers the divider.

The photo on the right is the reading light and a small storage cubby.

Below the seat controls is the IFE remote. It is not especially responsive, so you need a little patience.

There is also a power outlet up front. You can charge once the aircraft is at cruise.

Amenity kit and slippers. Note: this flight does not provide pyjamas.

Meals

On Vancouver–Incheon you cannot pre-order a special meal, but you can choose the seafood option under specials.

I am not reviewing the second leg, Incheon–Pudong, but I am including it here for comparison. That flight does allow meal pre-select.

There were two main meals during the flight. On-demand snacks were average, and the selection was very limited. Korean Air used to have a decent dessert; that is gone now as well.

The menu:

The wine and spirits list is just this — no Korean drinks of its own. Even Incheon–Pudong used the same list.

For the first meal I chose the Western option: tuna starter (excellent), steak as the main, plus fruit after.

For the second meal I chose halibut with white rice and Korean soybean-paste soup.

P2 pre-selected the special seafood meal, which is separate from the printed menu.

On-demand snacks included chips, cookies, and Shin Ramyun. I tried the Shin Ramyun; it was as expected.

Other notes

The onboard lavatory is huge, and it was kept reasonably clean.

The flight attendants were warm and friendly. Before landing I asked whether any souvenirs were for sale. They said there were no flight souvenirs, then gave me a pen with a Korean Air design.

Approaching Incheon