Flight Information
Date: October 23, 2017
Flight No.: 7C504
Route: Jeju International to Busan Gimhae
Airline:Â Jeju Air
Type:Â Boeing 737-800
Registration: HL8019
Since I flew Korean Air from Seoul to Jeju, I was looking to try a different airline on the next flight of my Korean trip, a flight to Busan.
Quite a few airlines operate on the Jeju-Busan route, but in the end, I didn’t have much choice. When searching for a flight that arrived in Busan in time for my connecting flight to Tokyo and a flight that wasn’t sold out, I found exactly one match.
A Jeju Air flight departing at 10:45AM and arriving at 11:45AM.
Checking-in at Jeju Airport
I left my accommodation – Hotel Shalom – at 7:30AM, and after waiting for a bus for about 25 minutes and a short bus ride, I arrived at the airport shortly after 8AM.
At the airport, I went straight to Jeju Air’s check-in area where I got a boarding pass for my flight in no time. And then, I went to Asiana’s lounge which belongs to the Priority Pass network and offers great views of the airport.
[one_half padding=”010px 10px 10px 10px”]
[/one_half]
[one_half_last padding=”010px 10px 10px 10px”]
[/one_half_last]
[full_width padding=”10px 10px 10px 10px”]
[/full_width]
Since Jeju has a visa regime different from mainland Korea, even passengers on domestic flights have to go through immigration check. In spite of that, less than ten minutes after leaving the lounge – at 9:50AM – I was airside.
Airside, I spent some more time photographing aircraft in an area with large windows right past the security check. I left the “panorama area” about 25 minutes before my scheduled departure time, and headed to gate 1A where my flight was departing from.
[full_width padding=”10px 10px 10px 10px”]
[/full_width]
Boarding Jeju Air Flight 504 from Jeju to Busan
Boarding started just a minute or two after I got to the gate area – at 10:33AM – and was a bit of a mess.
[one_half padding=”010px 10px 10px 10px”]
[/one_half]
[one_half_last padding=”010px 10px 10px 10px”]
[/one_half_last]
Nonetheless, after finding my way through a crowd unrelated to the flight to Busan, I got my boarding pass scanned and took the escalator down to the apron level where a bus was already waiting to take us to the aircraft.
[one_half padding=”010px 10px 10px 10px”]
[/one_half]
[one_half_last padding=”010px 10px 10px 10px”]
[/one_half_last]
Within a few minutes, the bus got on its way and brought us to HL8019 – one of Jeju Air’s 30 aircraft, all of which are 737-800s.
[full_width padding=”10px 10px 10px 10px”]
[/full_width]
[full_width padding=”10px 10px 10px 10px”]
[/full_width]
Once onboard, I headed down the aisle and settled in my window seat, 9A.
[full_width padding=”10px 10px 10px 10px”]
[/full_width]
[one_half padding=”010px 10px 10px 10px”]
[/one_half]
[one_half_last padding=”010px 10px 10px 10px”]
[/one_half_last]
Some minutes later, another busload of passengers came. And, by the time all of those passengers settled, there were no (or close to no) unoccupied seats.
[full_width padding=”10px 10px 10px 10px”]
[/full_width]
[one_half padding=”010px 10px 10px 10px”]
[/one_half]
[one_half_last padding=”010px 10px 10px 10px”]
[/one_half_last]
Departing Jeju Onboard a Jeju Air 737-800
With everyone onboard, the flight’s cabin crew armed the doors at 10:51AM, and just a minute later we were pushed back.
Around the same time, a welcome announcement was made, followed by a manual safety demonstration. During the announcement, a (very short) flight time of 35 minutes was mentioned.
At 10:57AM, we started taxiing towards the active runway.
[full_width padding=”10px 10px 10px 10px”]
[/full_width]
[full_width padding=”10px 10px 10px 10px”]
[/full_width]
In just a couple of minutes, we reached the end of runway 07 where we had to hold before lining up in order to let a fellow Jeju Air land.
[one_half padding=”010px 10px 10px 10px”]
[/one_half]
[one_half_last padding=”010px 10px 10px 10px”]
[/one_half_last]
Then, at 11:12AM, we took off.
[full_width padding=”10px 10px 10px 10px”]
[/full_width]
[one_half padding=”010px 10px 10px 10px”]
[/one_half]
[one_half_last padding=”010px 10px 10px 10px”]
[/one_half_last]
Jeju Air Domestic In-Flight Service
The seatbelt signs were switched off just four minutes after take-off, and so the crew could begin their in-flight service.
With Jeju Air being a low-cost airline, there was no free drink or meal, but there was a buy on board menu. Since it was a short flight, I didn’t buy anything, but below is the menu for reference.
[full_width padding=”10px 10px 10px 10px”]
[/full_width]
[full_width padding=”10px 10px 10px 10px”]
[/full_width]
[full_width padding=”10px 10px 10px 10px”]
[/full_width]
At 11:22AM, the flight deck crew gave a brief overview of the flight, mentioning our cruising altitude of 21,000 feet, speed of 530 miles per hour, and estimated arrival time of 11:45AM.
[full_width padding=”10px 10px 10px 10px”]
[/full_width]
Landing at Busan Gimhae Airport
Less than five minutes after the captain was done speaking, we started our descend.
The seatbelt sign was switched back on at 11:33AM – just as some small islands started appearing below us.
[one_half padding=”010px 10px 10px 10px”]
[/one_half]
[one_half_last padding=”010px 10px 10px 10px”]
[/one_half_last]
Another ten minutes or so later, we reached the mainland coast, and overflew southern part of Busan city.
[one_half padding=”010px 10px 10px 10px”]
[/one_half]
[one_half_last padding=”010px 10px 10px 10px”]
[/one_half_last]
[full_width padding=”10px 10px 10px 10px”]
[/full_width]
We landed on Busan Gimhae airport’s runway 36L at 11:46AM.
[full_width padding=”10px 10px 10px 10px”]
[/full_width]
[one_half padding=”010px 10px 10px 10px”]
[/one_half]
[one_half_last padding=”010px 10px 10px 10px”]
[/one_half_last]
[one_half padding=”010px 10px 10px 10px”]
[/one_half]
[one_half_last padding=”010px 10px 10px 10px”]
[/one_half_last]
And, we reached our parking spot less than ten minutes later at 11:54AM bringing the short and uneventful flight to an end.
[full_width padding=”10px 10px 10px 10px”]
[/full_width]
[full_width padding=”10px 10px 10px 10px”]
[/full_width]
After disembarking, I made my way to the airport’s international terminal to catch a flight to Tokyo Narita – the last flight of the trip. But, more on that in the next instalment.
[full_width padding=”10px 10px 10px 10px”]
[/full_width]
