KAL or No?

[PenName 1]

I'm arranging my trip in for the fall and I've got a rate of $812.00 from the U.S. midwest on a combination of Delta and Korean Air. Becuase I allowed myself to be bumped earlier this year, I have a $400 voucher from Delta that will make the net price $412.00.

 

Now, the question is about Korean Air. I've never flown with them and have heard a variety of reports. Any opinions on whether I (a) fly the Delta / Korean combination and earn the miles for the trip in my Delta mileage account (which is the larger of my FF accounts presently), or ( cash in the voucher (which I can do through a company expense reimbursement) and put the $400 toward a ticket on another airline and gt miles (or not) wherever they might fall?

 

In short, I guess, how tolerable or intolerable is Atlanta - Inchon - Bangkok on Korean Air apt to be?

 

Look forward to seeing some of you in October / November.

[Dourden 0]

I've only flow KAL once and it was from Inchon to Bangkok. It was a nice flight not to full but that was 3 years ago i don't have any recent experiance with them

[Greg_B 306]

$412 for a trip to LOS....Go for it and enjoy, I just hope you don't have a long layover

[BigDUSA 71]

I try and fly one airline as much as possible. With United I get double miles and basically I pay for two trips and the third one is free. I'm a Premier Executive with UA frequent flyer program and I have been upgraded a few times for free on my Asian trips. On international trips I get to use the Red Carpet Club for free. Plus I always get exit row seats. I figure you know all this but I'm writing this for the inexperienced flyer.

 

I've never flown KAL but I've flown with many other airlines and I find back in the cheap seats they all are pretty much the same.

[LBJ 533]

I flew Korean from BKK to Inchon and then Inchon to Atlanta. I had no complaints, flights were on time, and service was good. Delta and their partners are my choice right now as well. For me, the layover time is shorter as is the total trip time. I'm willing to pay a little more to get to Pattaya 3 and a half hours earlier and still save a night on the town.

[Emil 0]

BigD,

 

One other item someone might want to know about UA, is once your at the premier status they put you in economy plus which provides you with 5" additional inches of leg room.

 

Emil

[Tahoe_Bill 0]

PenName,

 

I haven’t flown Korean Air for a while, when I did I didn’t have any problems.

 

SkyTrax rates them as a 4 star airline which is higher than any of the "major" North American airlines. http://www.airlinequality.com/Airlines/KE.htm

 

Seat pitch in economy is 34 inches which looks to be one of the highest for non-premier seating. (stats by UK-Air.net) http://www.uk-air.net/seatpitch.htm

 

Hope this helps.

 

Bill

[PenName 1]

Bill, Big D and Everyone -

 

Thanks a ton for all the input. I didn't expect such a strong consensus backing what I suspected was the proper play. I tend to prefer foreign carriers for foreign trips -- Koren Air is just one that I haven't had reason to know much about. 20,000 FF miles into the account, delivery to our version of a discovered paradise, and all for a net of $412.50 shall be accepted as the no-brainer it probably should have been all along. As many others have pointed out before me, though, (a) it's 13 or 16 or 20 hours encased in an aluminum and steel fuselage of pressurized air, sub-par food and the occasional crying baby or rude seatmate so how enjoyable can it possibly be?, and ( the main thing, really, is about getting to LOS, right?

 

Korean Air it is then, and that's another thing crossed off the "Okay, what am I going to do about this?" list. I didn't get to cross paths with many of you on my last trip in, but for those of you who are around and thirsty between 27 October and 23 November, the first round is happily on me.

 

PenName