So, where were we? Oh yes. MrsPVG had dumped her bags with the driver and we went off to find the Asiana check-in zone for my next flight. It was now 9:30am with my next flight departing at 11:50am. Again this was in Business class so I managed to jump the queues and go straight up to the desk. A pleasant difference from the European airlines flying out of Shanghai is that there is none of the marshalling of people that goes on preventing non flying friends and relatives from accompanying you in the queue. This really annoys me when flying economy and I have to queue for ages whilst MrsPVG sadly waits out of the way somewhere. Though I can understand it keeps the queue looking shorter and more orderly.
Again I had to check in my excess luggage and pay the bill, and this time didnt have MrsPVGs spare allowance to use. This should have meant I would have had 40kg to pay for, but Ive found the far eastern airlines are a little more generous and forgiving, and the lovely check-in girl told me that I had 30kg included in my ticket and they would give me 10kg extra free, leaving me with 30kg to pay for, and this time the bill was only around 150. Shame on you Virgin! (True it was only a 1 _ hour flight). Oh and there was no question about the amount of cabin baggage I had. Off to a separate desk to pay my dues before going back to collect my boarding card and lounge invitation.
Its always amasing to see how much China has changed even in the few years Ive been a regular visitor. When I first arrived in Beijing in 2004 I had to pay baggage charges for a connecting flight on to Nanjing, and this was a long convoluted process involving visits to multiple desks and then trying to find a cash machine since they didnt accept credit cards and then queuing again to collect my boarding card once Id proved Id paid the bill.
At Chinese Airports, as the baggage disappears from the desk it goes through an x-ray machine before moving onto the main baggage belt. And it the end of every island is a security check room and someone who really does pay attention to their job and generally one of my bags is flagged for inspection. So I was summonsed to the check room where I had to open my suitcase that was half full of deodorant cans. After explaining I was very smelly and expected not to be able to buy it in Korea I was on my way again!
Despite only being married a few days, it was nearing time to say goodbye to MrsPVG yet again. She had work to do in Nanjing, and we were expecting it to take a while to sort our residence papers out. So again I felt it was probably not a good move to rush off for free beer in the Asiana lounge, (besides, all the virgin G&Ts had really given me a headache by this time!) We enjoyed a last cup of coffee before I went off through the usual queues to get to the gate. Again the passport with a transit stamp didnt cause any problems, so I was obviously needlessly worrying.
I arrived at the gate with a couple of minutes to spare before boarding time, and being business class was allowed to walk straight through, either to go to one of the lounges close the jetway, or as I chose to do, loiter until being allowed on board.
Id heard varying reports about the quality of Asiana and their Business class offering, but this being a shiny new 777 I hoped it would be good, and sure enough it was. As seems typical for a lot of Asian routes the Airlines use what we would typically call long haul aircraft despite the flight only being 1 _ hours. But at least this means we get long haul comfort! (The return flight is shown on the itinerary as being a B747)
The plane was a two class configuration was the business cabin being 8 rows I think of 2+3+2. I had a window seat. Settling into my seat I noticed it had more than enough bells and whistles to amuse me for a 12hour flight, let alone this short hop. Motor adjustment of every axis of movement. A fully flat, though angled sleep mode, and every position in between, with some privacy being afforded by the rear of the seat being fixed and forming a hood over your head as it reclines. The IFE was VOD with an extensive choice and a massive screen in the back of the seat in front. All in all a very very nice seat that I would happily fly a long time in. Once Id finished playing, a beautiful Korean Hostie came and offered a preflight drink. I sensibly chose an orange juice! Whilst drinking this I thumbed through the seat pocket literature, and found an application form for the Asiana FF club. They are a *A member, and I dont have one of those, so I filled it in and got it validated for this flight by the FSM. I also noticed that the aircraft was fitted with the Boeing Connexions in flight wifi and internet system. Much as I would have loved to by posting this online from 35000ft or skyping my friends, I couldnt work out from the literature if it cost or not, and I couldnt be bothered to move and get my laptop out. For the kudos it would have got me, I now regret not doing it!!!!
The flight pushed back on time and we were soon airbourne. Goodbye to Shanghai yet again, and probably the first time Id been to shanghai and not dragged mrsPVG to Taco Bells for some good n stodgy Mexican food!
The flight was pretty uneventful. I was torn between eating and sleeping but the hostie smiled soooo sweetly when she asked if I wanted lunch, I couldnt resist [;)] The food ws good and well presented, salad and fish, and a the typically asian choice of some kind of noodle or rice dish. I took the curried pork with rice and a chocolate cheesecake desert. No chopsticks though on this flight, but I suppose the traditional Korean Stainless steel ones are a definite no no on a plane these days!
This being such a short flight, everything was a little rushed, and after dinner and a couple of cups of English (black) tea I only had around ten minutes to kick back and relax before we were preparing for landing.
Arrivals was painless, except I got stuck behind the wife of a US serviceman who obviously had some unusual travel papers that took them a while to process. I collected my bags and went to buy a ticket for the KAL Airport limo bus. This is definitely the most convenient way to do the one hour journey in to central Seoul as it cost $13 as apposed to around $70-$200 for a taxi, and you can get them to most of the major hotels in the city. In fact even if you cant get one to where you are staying, I would recommend getting one as close as possible then getting a taxi from there as it will only cost $5 for the taxi within Seoul!
So, another comparison between Asiana Business Class and Virgin Upper.. nothing in it! Admitedly its difficult to make a fair comparison on such a short flight, and I think they use older 747s on the route to Heathrow and they are no comparison with the new seats on the 777. But like KLM, their tickets for LHR-ICN are half the cost of VS. So again Virgin, watch out with relying on the UCS to sell your routes! I know I find it very difficult to justify the cost of Virgin to my company when there are far lower priced seats on other airlines.
