Korean Air KE725 KE728 economy review for my Incheon to Osaka round trip
I ended up making a last-minute trip to Osaka because of my husband,
and once again, we flew Korean Air.
Incheon to Osaka KE725, Osaka to Incheon KE728
Here’s my round-trip economy class review!
Korean Air KE725 KE728 economy review: Incheon Airport Terminal 2 check-in
Korean Air operates out of Terminal 2 at Incheon International Airport,
and at the time, it was using counters A through E.
Accessible passenger security lane at Incheon Airport
After check-in, I got an accessibility sticker.
Passengers with the sticker
can use the dedicated accessible lane too 🙂
Pregnant travelers don’t go through the standard security scanner,
and a female staff member does a manual screening instead.
Matina Gold Lounge
We had some time before boarding, so we headed to the Matina Gold Lounge for lunch.
Their long-running “10,000 won happiness” promo had ended,
so the lounge felt extra calm, quiet, and spacious, which I loved.
It was also one of those good buffet days,
so I had a really satisfying meal before the flight.
There was coffee, beer, and wine, but none of that was happening for me,
so I had a cup of hovenia tea instead.
Even the massage chairs were open, so I squeezed in a quick session before heading to the gate.
Even if you don’t have a lounge access card or Priority Pass,
you can still buy a pass and get in!
Besides Matina, there are other lounges too, like Sky Hub and Lounge L,
so it’s worth checking your options.
KE725
Because I qualified for accessible assistance, I could have boarded first,
but I stayed in the lounge a little longer and went over later instead.
Then again, the flight ended up departing about 20 to 30 minutes late after everyone had already boarded…
I’m pretty sure the aircraft was an Airbus A330-300.
I booked late, so all the paid seats near the front were completely gone, and I ended up with one of those awkward middle-ish seats.
The flight time from Incheon to Kansai was
about 1 hour and 50 minutes, and honestly, it went by faster than I expected.
Once we took off, reached cruising altitude, and got the meal service,
it was basically time to clear trays and prepare for landing.
KE725 in-flight meal
On the Japan-bound flight, the regular meal was a seafood dish,
and I wasn’t really in the mood for that, so out of pure curiosity,
I pre-ordered the Korean vegetarian meal.
I’d seen a lot of people say Korean Air’s Korean vegetarian option
can be surprisingly good on other routes,
so I gave it a shot… and it was a miss ^_
The nice thing about a special meal is that they bring it out first,
but the main tray was braised burdock root, braised tofu, shiitake mushrooms,
and rice, with no gochujang or seaweed on the side,
so it tasted really bland and underwhelming.
I wasn’t planning to rely on airplane food to fill me up anyway, so I just took a few bites and closed it back up…
My husband usually skips the meal service
on short-haul routes, so I didn’t even get to see what the regular meal looked like.
Kansai International Airport, Osaka, Japan
We landed safely at Kansai Airport.
For Morning Calm members, the best perk is honestly how fast your bags come out.
But even if you’re not Morning Calm, pregnant travelers can still get a priority baggage tag,
so definitely mention it at check-in
and take advantage of it during pregnancy.
And that wraps up the Incheon to Osaka leg!
Then suddenly it was already time to fly home. This trip felt way too short.
The international departures level at Kansai Airport is on the 4th floor,
and all the check-in counters are there too.
Korean Air check-in at Kansai Airport
We had definitely accumulated a lot more luggage by the time we were heading back,
but Morning Calm lets you check two 23 kg bags each, which was great.
Even with a travel stroller and a Tripp Trapp,
it somehow only came out to 16 kg(?)
We even expanded one of the large suitcases and packed it completely full.
Accessible fast track at Kansai Airport, Osaka
At Kansai Airport too,
you can get an accessible fast-lane ticket at check-in.
That said, there were so many eligible passengers using fast track that it didn’t actually feel much faster once we got inside.
Security was also done with a manual pat-down,
and in Japan they are reeeally thorough.
They checked every part of my body carefully with their palms.
Kansai duty-free pickup counter
Because we checked in only an hour before departure,
my husband had to sprint over to pick up our duty-free order.
The duty-free pickup area at Kansai Airport is much smaller than the one at Incheon, but there also weren’t nearly as many people using it.
My lucky husband managed to reserve some hard-to-get Suntory Japanese whiskies
from the Kansai online duty-free shop, where they’re sold by lottery only.
When he picked them up,
the local staff actually asked how he managed to reserve them
and said he was really lucky.
Shuttle train
Our gate was Gate 10,
and at Kansai, gates 1 through 14 are the ones you need to reach by train.
The weather was so beautiful on the day we left that I really didn’t want to go home.
KE728
This time I used priority boarding for pregnant passengers,
so I got on first, which was kind of nice.
There’s just something satisfying about seeing the cabin completely empty.
This time there was still a paid front-row seat available, so I grabbed it.
The extra legroom was great, though I did miss having a screen.
Bye, Japan~~~
KE728 in-flight meal
On the way back, I skipped the Korean Air special meal
and just went with the regular in-flight meal.
It was beef bulgogi, but honestly, this one was just okay too.
Bibimbap used to be the best option, so why is it so hard to find these days?
Anyway, after hauling all our heavy bags around,
we made it safely back to the parking lot where we’d left the car with valet service.
This was also my first time using airport valet parking,
and wow, it was so easy and convenient.
I’ll probably keep using it whenever we’re traveling with a lot of luggage.