Showing posts with label 737. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 737. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Fifth time to Hong Kong
 [Korean Air] KE 601 ICN-HKG (Seoul/Incheon->Hong Kong) trip report
 [대한항공] KE 601 서울/인천->홍콩/첵립콕 탑승기

Korean Air B737 is the way to go.
 
KE 601 ICN-HKG (Seoul/Incheon->Hong Kong)
DEP ICN 12 JUN 2013 13:45
ARR HKG 12 JUN 2013 16:50
Flight Duration: 4:05
Aircraft: B737-900ER

I had some work to do in Hong Kong while working in Korea. At that time, there were four daily flights to Hong Kong with Korean Air. The early morning flight was with B747, second flight with A330, third flight (mine) with B737-900ER, and last flight with A380-800.  
I wanted to take the A380 flight, but that meant getting into Hong Kong much later at night. I wanted to grab dinner with friends in Hong Kong, so I decided take the B737-900ER flight which departed from ICN at 13:45.

Incheon Airport had been getting very busy in the recent years.  I hope they work on getting the Terminal 2 finished on time. 
 
The Korean Air A380-800 was pulling into the gate right next to my flight.
 
This big blue whale will serve as KE 11 to Los Angeles Airport.

And right next to the A380-800 was my Hong Kong-bound plane in Gate 8.

In Korean airports, they do not allow outside drinks to be brought in (even post-security). I bought a Mr. Smoothie couple minutes before boarding time and the agent kindly advised me of the policy. I ended up hanging around for good 10-15 minutes to finish the smoothie. 


Since it was a smaller plane, the gate used only one boarding bridge. 

That's the copilot.

The plane was only a couple of months old. Can you say "new plane smell"?
 
That window seat is mine.

To the left of me was an Indonesia-bound Korean Air A330.

The Korean Air's new economy seats were installed on their medium-range B737s. The AVOD systems on B737, although a bit smaller than the ones on B777 or A380, is basically the same thing as the ones on the bigger KE planes.
 

Today, there weren't any Cantonese-speaking flight attendants. Only the Mandarin-speaking ones.




We took-off to the north and quickly turned to the west.

The new Boeing Sky Interior mood lighting looks great.
 





Choices for lunch was Bibimbap, beef, or fish. I chose fish for the in-flight meal.
 
It turned out to be one of the worst in-flight meals I've ever had. The fish was way too dry.
 
I watched "Django Unchained" for the movie.

I've always been on bigger planes with Korean Air, so it's a new feeling to be on their B737s.
 


Hong Kong's weather was rather cloudy today with a bit of rain.
 

We landed from the west side of the Hong Kong Airport Island.
 



At the baggage claim.

To save some money we took the A11 bus toward the Hong Kong Island. The fare would be 40 HKD each way. One way ticket for the Airport Express would set us back 100 HKD each.
 
At the Fortress Hill MTR Station.

At Wan Chai. Looking at I.M. Pei's signature Bank of Hong Kong Tower.

Me at the Victoria Peak, awed by the scenery of Hong Kong skyline.
 
 

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

First time Aboard B737-900ER Sky Interior!
 [Korean Air] KE 609 ICN-HKG (Seoul/Incheon->Hong Kong) trip report
 [대한항공] KE 609 서울/인천->홍콩/첵립콕 탑승기

KE 601 ICN-HKG (Seoul/Incheon->Hong Kong)
DEP ICN 13:45 28 DEC 2011
ARR HKG 16:50 28 DEC 2011
Flight Duration: 4:05
Aircraft: B737-900ER


After about two weeks of winter vacation in Korea, it was time to go back to Chicago for last semester of school.  If you've been following my crazy flight itinerary from Chicago to Seoul, then you'll know my return trip itinerary back from Seoul to Chicago would be the same exact segments. Just as a reminder, the whole trip itinerary was as follows:

(Click each flight segments for trip reports)

Outbound

Inbound

* = This flight could have been Finnair flight to Paris. By the time I booked the ticket, this option was unavailable.
** = I was originally scheduled for AA 87 flight from LHR to ORD, but due to delay of AY 831 from Helsinki, I was rebooked into the next flight.

Today's flight would be KE 601, an afternoon Korean Air flight bound for Hong Kong. Korean Air operates four flights daily to Hong Kong. In 2011, these flights were provided through B777-200ER, B747-400, A380-800, and B737-900ER.  In order to make my Finnair AY 70 flight bound for Helsinki/Vantaa the next morning at 1:30AM (and to give myself some cushion room with time just in case), I booked myself an afternoon flight with Korean Air B737-900ER, scheduling myself to arrive into Hong Kong airport at around 5PM local time.

This would mark my first time ever in a Korean Air B737, and my first time ever experiencing Boeing Sky Interior.  I am used to traveling with wide-bodied Korean Air aircrafts, so this experience would be new.

I arrived at Seoul/Incheon Airport around noon. The airport was busy with people traveling during Holiday Season.

The Los Angeles-bound KE A380-800 at Gate 10, next to my gate.

And the Hong Kong-bound B737-900ER, which would be my flight for today.


The boarding pass.

The waiting area in the Korean Air side of the terminal.

Boarding the B737 at last!

It was my first time boarding a narrow-body jet in ICN.

The A380-800 getting ready for its long-haul flight across Pacific.

Safety Information Brief


I actually did not expect AVOD system on this plane. It turns out the new economy seats were installed on this plane.

The plane took-off through the cloudy skies toward the Yellow Sea.

 
It wasn't too long until the flight attendants started serving food.

Most Korean Air flights originating from Korea have Bibimbap as one of the choices, but on today's flight, Bibimbap wasn't offered. I took a chicken dish, which was served along with mashed potatoes, steamed vegetables, tofu, bread roll, and pineapple pieces. Chicken was well cooked and the mashed potatoes tasted great.


Passing Taiwanese airspace.

20 minutes from landing

I tried a noodle dish at Hong Kong Airport's Crystal Jade in the arrivals floor. It was one of the hottest dish I have ever tasted in my life, but I finished nonetheless.

I killed some time before checking into Finnair flights by playing some PS3 in the airport.

Looking into the post-security area of the terminal from the pre-security area.





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