Flight Review: Korean Air 747-400 Economy Class from Seoul Gimpo to Jeju

Flight Review: Korean Air 747-400 Economy Class from Seoul Gimpo to Jeju

Flight Information
Date
: October 22, 2017
Flight No.: KE1233
Route: Seoul Gimpo to Jeju International
Airline: Korean Air
Type: Boeing 747-400
Registration: HL7461

The day of this flight, I was supposed to take new Jinbei Jet’s inaugural flight. But, because of a change of plans forced by a typhoon, I ended up flying on Korean Air’s 747 from Seoul to Jeju instead.

Check-in and a Quick Lunch at Lotte Mall Gimpo

I spent the morning at Incheon airport (more on that in a separate article) with a fellow Korean spotter before we both headed to Gimpo.

Once there, I quickly got my boarding pass at one of Korean Air’s “Sky Priority” desks. And, while I had many “receipt-like” boarding passes in the past, this one was by far the longest one.

With the boarding pass in my hand, we headed to a mall adjacent to the airport where we had a quick lunch.

[full_width padding=”10px 10px 10px 10px”]Korean Air Gimpo Check-In Area

Korean Air check-in area at Gimpo airport.

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[one_half padding=”010px 10px 10px 10px”]Korean Air Boarding Pass

Boarding pass.

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[one_half_last padding=”010px 10px 10px 10px”]Spicy Noodles and Dumplings

Spicy noodles and dumplings.

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After lunch, I bade farewell to my Korean friend, and visited Asiana Lounge and KAL Lounge – both of which are members of the Priority Pass network and are located before clearing security.

Seoul Gimpo – Jeju: The Busiest Air Route in the World

I left the latter lounge at 1PM and headed through the security check. It was fairly quick, as I was through within five minutes. And, that included getting my bag “swiped” and tested for explosives.

[one_half padding=”010px 10px 10px 10px”]Security Check

Security check.

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[one_half_last padding=”010px 10px 10px 10px”]Airside at Gimpo

Airside at Gimpo airport’s domestic terminal.

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Before continuing, I want to mention that Seoul Gimpo – Jeju is the busiest air route in the world in terms of the number of passengers carried.

Being operated by all of the major Korean airlines – including Korean Air, Asiana Airlines, Jeju Air, Air Busan, T’Way Airlines, Eastar Jet, and Jin Air – it is also among the top 3 busiest routes in terms of the number of flights.

While most of the flights on the Seoul – Jeju route are operated by narrow bodies, there are also some wide body frequencies including the 747 flight I took.

[full_width padding=”10px 10px 10px 10px”]Gimpo Airport Departure Board

Jeju, Jeju, Jeju, Jeju, …

[/full_width]

Airside, I headed directly towards gate 4 where my flight was departing from. As I was walking towards the gate, an announcement was made that boarding would be delayed from 1:20PM to 1:30PM.

[full_width padding=”10px 10px 10px 10px”]Korean Air 737

Korean Air 737-800.

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[one_half padding=”010px 10px 10px 10px”]Airbridge

Airbridge.

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[one_half_last padding=”010px 10px 10px 10px”]Walkway

Walkway to gate 4.

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When I got to the gate, flight KE1231 bound for Jeju was boarding at the adjacent gate 5. At the same time, a queue started to form around gate 4 for my flight – KE1233 – departing just five minutes after KE1231.

[one_half padding=”010px 10px 10px 10px”]Gates 4 and 5

Gates 4 and 5.

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[one_half_last padding=”010px 10px 10px 10px”]Gates 4 and 5

KE1231 at 1:45PM, KE1233 at 1:50PM…

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[full_width padding=”10px 10px 10px 10px”]Gimpo Airport Gate 4

Gate 4.

[/full_width]

Outside, the Queen of the Skies was already waiting for its next domestic hop.

[full_width padding=”10px 10px 10px 10px”]Korean Air Boeing 747-400

Korean Air 747-400.

[/full_width]

Boarding the Korean Air 747-400 and Departing Bound for Jeju

Boarding started at 1:31PM, and being a Sky Team Elite Plus member, I was one of the first passengers to head down the jetway.

[full_width padding=”10px 10px 10px 10px”]Boarding Korean Air 747-400

Boarding.

[/full_width]

[one_half padding=”010px 10px 10px 10px”]Newspapers

Newspapers provided in the airbridge.

[/one_half]

[one_half_last padding=”010px 10px 10px 10px”]Korean Air 747

One more look at the aircraft before getting onboard.

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Onboard, I took a quick look into the nose section which featured 12 first class seats.

[full_width padding=”10px 10px 10px 10px”]Korean Air 747-400 First Class

First class cabin.

[/full_width]

Then, I headed to my seat 28K which was just a couple of steps away since it was a seat in the very first row of the economy class cabin which was right behind the first class cabin. Being a bulkhead seat, the legroom was more than generous – although at the cost of not being able to raise the armrest.

[full_width padding=”10px 10px 10px 10px”]Korean Air 747-400 Economy Class

First row of economy class.

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[one_half padding=”010px 10px 10px 10px”]Korean Air 747 Economy Class Cabin

First economy class cabin.

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[one_half_last padding=”010px 10px 10px 10px”]Legroom

More than enough legroom.

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After dropping off my bag, I also peeked into the next economy class cabin. Interestingly, it featured differently colored seats than the one that I was seated in.

[full_width padding=”10px 10px 10px 10px”]Blue Seats

Second economy class cabin.

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Around 1:50PM, one of the cabin crew members came by to take the screens of people seated in bulkhead seats out of the armrest in preparation for the safety video screening.

Just a couple of minutes later at 1:57PM – seven minutes behind schedule – the push back started. Around the same time, the cabin crew came to stow the screen. While doing so, she also welcomed me onboard and thanked me for flying with Korean Air.

[one_half padding=”010px 10px 10px 10px”]Wingview

Waiting for push back.

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[one_half_last padding=”010px 10px 10px 10px”]Screen

Personal screen.

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Shortly, the aircraft’s four Pratt & Whitney engines were fired up, and we taxied towards our departure runway, crossing runway 14L/32R along the way.

[full_width padding=”10px 10px 10px 10px”]Taxiing to Runway at Gimpo

Taxiing for departure.

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[full_width padding=”10px 10px 10px 10px”]Seoul Gimpo Airport

Overview of Gimpo airport.

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We took off from runway 32L at 2:09PM. And, almost immediately after lifting off, we commenced a left turn – both to avoid North Korea and to head to Jeju which is an island to the south of Korean mainland.

[one_half padding=”010px 10px 10px 10px”]Seoul Gimpo Runway 32L

Entering runway 32L.

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[one_half_last padding=”010px 10px 10px 10px”]Take Off

Seconds after take off.

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[full_width padding=”10px 10px 10px 10px”]Take Off

Chasing our own shadow.

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[full_width padding=”10px 10px 10px 10px”]Wingview

Climbing.

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Korean Air Domestic In-Flight Service

The seatbelt signs were switched off just four minutes after take off, at 2:13PM. At the time, we were flying by Incheon airport.

[full_width padding=”10px 10px 10px 10px”]Seoul Incheon Airport

Incheon airport.

[/full_width]

With Incheon airport photographed, I left my seat to look around the cabin a bit. And, of course, also to take a couple of photos through the window on “L2″ door which is perhaps the best window for wing shots on the 747.

[one_half padding=”010px 10px 10px 10px”]Stairs

“Stairway to heaven.”

[/one_half]

[one_half_last padding=”010px 10px 10px 10px”]Cabin

Economy class cabin in-flight.

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[full_width padding=”10px 10px 10px 10px”]Wingview from Door 2

Cruising at 26,000 feet.

[/full_width]

When I returned to my seat, the drink service was in progress – and as usual, I went with a cup of orange juice.

Around the same time, the cockpit crew made an announcement. But, it was incomprehensible – the only part of it I could understand was that we were flying at 26,000 feet at the time.

[full_width padding=”10px 10px 10px 10px”]Korean Air Drink

Orange juice.

[/full_width]

Once the cups were cleared, I took a quick look at the contents of the seat pocket.

[full_width padding=”10px 10px 10px 10px”]Seat Pocket

Contents of seat pocket.

[/full_width]

By the time I put all the printed materials back into the seat pocket, we were flying by Gunsan airport, making our way south.

[one_half padding=”010px 10px 10px 10px”]Gunsan Airport

Gunsan airport.

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[one_half_last padding=”010px 10px 10px 10px”]River

A view along the way to Jeju.

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Landing at Jeju International Airport

We started our descend just as we were reaching the southern tip of the Korean Peninsula. And by the time we reached the western side of Jeju Island, we were down to about 4,000 feet.

[full_width padding=”10px 10px 10px 10px”]Cruising Over Sea

Crossing the sea.

[/full_width]

Then, a sharp left turn after which we flew above the island for a while followed.

[full_width padding=”10px 10px 10px 10px”]Approaching Jeju Island

Approaching Jeju island.

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[one_half padding=”010px 10px 10px 10px”]Dramatic Skies

Dramatic skies.

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[one_half_last padding=”010px 10px 10px 10px”]Jeju

Over Jeju island.

[/one_half_last]

Finally, we landed on Jeju airport’s runway 07 at 3:03PM.

[one_half padding=”010px 10px 10px 10px”]Landing

Flying over Jeju island.

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[one_half_last padding=”010px 10px 10px 10px”]Apartments in Jeju

Apartments in Jeju city.

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[full_width padding=”10px 10px 10px 10px”]Jeju Airport Landing

“JEJU.”

[/full_width]

Another five minutes later, at 3:08PM, we arrived at our remote parking spot.

Luckily, the weather was good – and so I could enjoy seeing the 747 up close from the outside before getting on the bus into the terminal.

[one_half padding=”010px 10px 10px 10px”]Deboarding

Korean Air 747-400 at Jeju airport.

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[one_half_last padding=”010px 10px 10px 10px”]Korean Air 747 in Jeju

The flight is over.

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[full_width padding=”10px 10px 10px 10px”]Korean Air 747-400

What a beautiful aircraft!

[/full_width]

I wasn’t able to get on the first bus, and so I had to wait a bit. But, I didn’t mind that at all given that I was standing beneath a 747!

[full_width padding=”10px 10px 10px 10px”]Korean Air 747

One last look at the aircraft.

[/full_width]

[full_width padding=”10px 10px 10px 10px”]Korean Air Bus

Korean Air bus.

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As I was traveling with hand luggage only, once I got off the bus, it was just a short walk to the airport’s bus stop from where I took a bus into Jeju City where my hotel for the night was located.

[one_half padding=”010px 10px 10px 10px”]Jeju Airport Terminal

Jeju airport terminal.

[/one_half]

[one_half_last padding=”010px 10px 10px 10px”]Bus Stop

Waiting for the bus.

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2 thoughts on “Flight Review: Korean Air 747-400 Economy Class from Seoul Gimpo to Jeju”

  1. A bit miraculous that your photo of the Jeju Airport interior shows no passengers, considering you told us how congested that flight route is! Were you flying on some odd day where people were staying at home? Can’t imagine how you were able to capture such a view. 😉

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