Korean Air KE727 Prestige Class Review: Incheon to Osaka with a 7-month-old baby
We just got back from a trip to Osaka, Japan with our 7-month-old baby!
We had gone to Vietnam when she was 5 months old,
and economy was honestly so hard
that this time we booked business class instead.
The flight we took this time
was Korean Air KE727, and on this day, the Incheon to Osaka
flight time was 1 hour and 45 minutes.
Before the baby was born, we always took the airport limousine bus,
but now there’s really no choice—
we have to drive to the airport every time.
She slept like a dream all the way to Incheon Airport.
Korean Air Prestige Class check-in
was at the far end, Counter A.
I’ve never really had to wait in line when flying Prestige or business class,
but this time
it must have been a busy hour for business passengers,
because the line was actually pretty long.
I snapped this while we were waiting to check in,
and she looked so adorably serious that I had to include it.
Since we were traveling with a baby, we could use the priority lane for passengers needing assistance, so even with a crowded airport, there was nothing to stress about.
It looked like there was also a family-friendly priority screening entrance near Departure Hall 2, but it felt too far out of the way, so we skipped it.
Before boarding, we stopped by the Korean Air lounge
to eat a little first.
(Even in Prestige, it’s hard to enjoy an in-flight meal comfortably
when you’re traveling with a baby, so it’s better to eat something beforehand.)
Boarding time~
The aircraft was a B787-9, and our seats were
Prestige Suite (older version)!
Our return flight had Prestige Suite 2.0, the newer version, so that one was better,
but honestly, the older suite was still perfectly fine.
Our daughter claimed her seat before mom and dad even sat down.
At 5 months, she wore her earmuffs just fine,
but now that she’s a little older, she keeps trying to pull them off.
Our seats were 7D and 7E in the very front row.
Park Happy’s third flight ever..!
She got so much attention thanks to her cute little hair clip.
When you’re flying with a baby, you barely have the mental space to take photos of anything, but somehow I still managed to get one of the slippers.
For the meal, the choices were
Korean-style steamed halibut with perilla seeds
or Japanese gyudon.
The page on the right was the menu for the return flight,
so you could think ahead about what to order on the way back.
I had planned to feed her right at takeoff,
but as usual, she got hungry a little earlier than that.
So I left about 30 mL in the bottle and gave her the rest during takeoff.
Maybe because she kept sucking during the climb,
she thankfully didn’t cry or fuss at all.
A welcome drink for a little sugar boost… and a glass of cognac too.
It should have been nap time, but instead of sleeping,
she was way too busy looking around and taking everything in.
How to survive Korean Air Prestige with a baby:
recline the seat all the way to 180 degrees, lay the baby near the headrest, and have mom or dad perch awkwardly on the leg section of the seat…^^
Even in Prestige, there isn’t enough room
for an adult to lie down next to the baby, so… fine, at least you be comfortable.
We both chose the gyudon for the in-flight meal!
It’s such a short route, but because of the baby,
we had to take turns eating,
so there wasn’t even time for dessert or coffee.
Still, the gyudon was actually pretty good.
We had also requested a baby meal, so we received two jars of baby food,
but once again, we didn’t feed it to her.
I thought maybe we’d use it in Osaka,
so I took it off the plane with us, but she never ate it and we ended up leaving it at the hotel.
I really wished she’d fallen asleep a little earlier…^^ She kept happily playing the whole time,
then finally fell asleep maybe 40 minutes before arrival,
so she didn’t actually get to lie down like this for very long.
And of course, for landing, the seat has to be upright again…
Even when I lifted her up to put the seat back upright,
Park Happy stayed fast asleep.
She woke up after landing, maybe because of the vibrations,
but that 40-minute nap put her in a very good mood.
Back in Osaka exactly one year later!
Happy had been here once before while still in my belly,
and now she was back again on the outside.
The Joolz stroller we’re using now
was actually something we bought in Osaka too.
The Incheon to Osaka route is short,
and since we were in business class, it really wasn’t too bad.
Of course, it was still much harder than flying without a baby,
but compared to our last flight…^^;;
I’m planning to post a separate review of the return flight too (hopefully).