My time in Britain was coming to an end. It was time to go back to the Philippines apparently for good. As much as I wanted to stay on the European side of the world, fate has other plans for me and I have no alternative but to accept it.
One parting gift though was I would get a chance to fly home using business class yet again on another airline. It took me over a week to decide which airline I would ride. Initially I was leaning towards Asiana because I would be on a 5-star carrier and its new A350. Also, the price of £2, 500 one-way for that was not so bad given that flights to Manila were pricey for obvious reasons. It also would allow me to go lounge-binging again since it was Star Alliance and there were two lounges to enjoy: Lufthansa and Singapore Air. However due to factors beyond my control I was unable to book on time. There were flights left earlier in the week but due to other matters, those were a few days too early for me. Turkish Airlines was an alternative but due to it being a 3-star airline, it left me with some doubts. Etihad was also a possibility but it was a bit too pricey. Don't get me started with Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines. Other than the fact that they cost twice as much, the extremely short layover time meant it was not worth it. Yes, for business class flights, I value the quality time spent at the hub and soaking up a carrier's signature lounge at that hub.
At the last minute however, a seat opened up with Korean Air. Prices were more or less similar to Asiana. Plus, one gets to stop by Seoul-Incheon, which I know has an excellent airport. I would be getting about 3 hours and 45 minutes worth of stopover time, plenty of time to enjoy the airport and/or the lounge. As soon as I got the payment method sorted out, we booked it. I felt too that Korean Air would make for an interesting experience since it would be my first time in 34 years to fly with this carrier. Korean Air was in fact the very first carrier that I ever flew with so there was some sentimental value.
Hilton Hotel Heathrow Terminal 4 Review
As I was doing my research on whether Korean Air was a reasonable alternative to Asiana, one thing that I stumbled upon was the fact that Korean Air is in the process of considering whether to acquire Asiana. It is fascinating in that it is a case of a 4-star carrier acquiring a 5-star carrier. But as the process is unlikely to materialise until at least 2024, we will cross the bridge when we get there. It will be business as usual for both carriers until then, at least in terms of their distinct identities, service offerings, amenities, alliances, etc.
One other quirk that I discovered for this particular journey, the seats that are normally reserved for first class (also known as the Cosmo 2.0 suites) are available to ticketed business class passengers apparently for no additional cost. To be clear, the soft product, (e.g. catering, amenity kits, beddings) will be exactly the same as those sitting in the normal business class seats.
I was able to secure such a seat on the shorter Seoul-Manila leg but I monitored if an open first class seat for the longer London-Seoul segment was available for a few more days. Luckily, it paid off and I reserved such seats for both flights. I then further changed the seat as I got at first a middle D seat and later found that an A seat became available. I wished though that it were seat 1A instead of 2A so it would be the same as the Seoul-Manila flight. I have been tossing and turning of whether it would be worth it to change to PAL's A350 given the relatively low cancellation costs. But the fact that I can score a hard first class seat on Korean Air all but clinched my decision to stay with my originally-booked airline.
Terminal 4 Map
It turns out that Korean Air is not alone in its trend to suspend the sale of first class for the moment: other carriers are following suit. The realities of the global pandemic has shed light on the fact that first class is a service that requires too many contact points, something which epidemiologists worry about.
Leaving Britain for good means you may need to pack heavy. And for the next three or four days, it was an absolute nightmare figuring out how to make the most of one’s business class baggage allowance without going over. And it is a very expensive business to travel with five pieces of bags as they had to be moved at least three times!
On the day of travel, getting to the airport meant we were tangled up in traffic. I left shortly before 14.00 local time (five hours before the flight) and the taxi trip took to Paddington station almost an hour. Consider that Paddington station was less than three miles away from my hotel. But Black Friday and a strike involving the London Underground or Tube made things worse.
Korean Air Involved In Minor Collision Incident At Heathrow Airport
Upon arrival at Paddington station, I grabbed a trolley and managed to fit three of my four bags into it. The fourth bag was easy to pull out. To save on costs, I decided to travel using the TFL Rail, formerly known as the Heathrow Connect. Unlike the Heathrow Express, it had several stops along the way. Journey time from Paddington to Terminal 2 and 3 is 30 minutes. I had to put my two big bags at the corner of the door and my eyes were glued to it for most of the train journey. I had to lug my bags to the nearest trolley point upon arrival at Heathrow station. The trolley seemed smaller than its counterpart at Paddington.
The good news was that when I got there, there were no queues. The bad news was that immediately, I got news my first bag seemed overweight. They gave me an option to repack or pay an excess fee. It took a half hour to transfer items and figure out what to throw away. It felt really panicking. Although I did my research on the baggage allowance, the heart of the issue was that I might have misinterpreted what the hand luggage allowance included. Strictly speaking for business class, a backpack counts as hand luggage. The “personal item” only applies to economy class (in addition to the one hand luggage). Ultimately the check-in staff let it slip that I take the backpack out and take it as hand luggage along with everything else without much fanfare. Taking my bags out, the heaviest bag was within the ideal allowance. In the course of repacking, I panicked and briefly misplaced my passport.
Luckily I found it fairly quickly. I showed the staff the required documents, including my PCR Test and barcode needed to enter the Philippines. It would't be the only time I would part with my passport.
Korean Air Counts On Further Recovery In Japan And China |
TIP: When in doubt, always ask beforehand what the hand luggage allowance includes. In business class, what seems to be a personal item is counted as hand luggage, especially with Korean Air.
Despite having access to fast track, security was a bit slow. There was a bottleneck of bags in front of me waiting to be screened. Maybe this is why I now appreciate Korean Air’s hand luggage limit. Despite the bottleneck at security and the many items I put forward for screening, I got my items without much scrutiny.
I then made my way to the No 1 Lounge. The ambience is okay and I used it on a previous occasion. I found the food selection limited though. Just one kind pasta. There was basmati rice and a form of chicken meal. There were also biscuits and muffins. But nothing else much. It was crowded and many sections were cordoned off, including the shower room. Although there are COVID considerations, staff could easily clean and disinfect these areas in a short period of time, plus opening a few more sections of the lounge could make social distancing manageable. In other words, I was not missing very much considering the “delays” to getting to Heathrow and the slight snafu at the check-in desks. But I was forced to start a Zoom meeting with a few fellow language learners a bit late and with shortened meeting time.
Airport Lounge Review: Skyteam Lounge, London Heathrow, Terminal 4.
I arrived at the gate and there weren’t many people left to board. The staff asked me to present my passport and RT-PCR test result. I took a photo by one of the walls that depicted a London road. I entered the boarding gate but one annoyance I had was they used only one boarding gate rather than two. It would have helped speed up the process if both were operational.
Just at the foot of the aerobridge, the staff scanned
Upon arrival at Paddington station, I grabbed a trolley and managed to fit three of my four bags into it. The fourth bag was easy to pull out. To save on costs, I decided to travel using the TFL Rail, formerly known as the Heathrow Connect. Unlike the Heathrow Express, it had several stops along the way. Journey time from Paddington to Terminal 2 and 3 is 30 minutes. I had to put my two big bags at the corner of the door and my eyes were glued to it for most of the train journey. I had to lug my bags to the nearest trolley point upon arrival at Heathrow station. The trolley seemed smaller than its counterpart at Paddington.
The good news was that when I got there, there were no queues. The bad news was that immediately, I got news my first bag seemed overweight. They gave me an option to repack or pay an excess fee. It took a half hour to transfer items and figure out what to throw away. It felt really panicking. Although I did my research on the baggage allowance, the heart of the issue was that I might have misinterpreted what the hand luggage allowance included. Strictly speaking for business class, a backpack counts as hand luggage. The “personal item” only applies to economy class (in addition to the one hand luggage). Ultimately the check-in staff let it slip that I take the backpack out and take it as hand luggage along with everything else without much fanfare. Taking my bags out, the heaviest bag was within the ideal allowance. In the course of repacking, I panicked and briefly misplaced my passport.
Luckily I found it fairly quickly. I showed the staff the required documents, including my PCR Test and barcode needed to enter the Philippines. It would't be the only time I would part with my passport.
Korean Air Counts On Further Recovery In Japan And China |
TIP: When in doubt, always ask beforehand what the hand luggage allowance includes. In business class, what seems to be a personal item is counted as hand luggage, especially with Korean Air.
Despite having access to fast track, security was a bit slow. There was a bottleneck of bags in front of me waiting to be screened. Maybe this is why I now appreciate Korean Air’s hand luggage limit. Despite the bottleneck at security and the many items I put forward for screening, I got my items without much scrutiny.
I then made my way to the No 1 Lounge. The ambience is okay and I used it on a previous occasion. I found the food selection limited though. Just one kind pasta. There was basmati rice and a form of chicken meal. There were also biscuits and muffins. But nothing else much. It was crowded and many sections were cordoned off, including the shower room. Although there are COVID considerations, staff could easily clean and disinfect these areas in a short period of time, plus opening a few more sections of the lounge could make social distancing manageable. In other words, I was not missing very much considering the “delays” to getting to Heathrow and the slight snafu at the check-in desks. But I was forced to start a Zoom meeting with a few fellow language learners a bit late and with shortened meeting time.
Airport Lounge Review: Skyteam Lounge, London Heathrow, Terminal 4.
I arrived at the gate and there weren’t many people left to board. The staff asked me to present my passport and RT-PCR test result. I took a photo by one of the walls that depicted a London road. I entered the boarding gate but one annoyance I had was they used only one boarding gate rather than two. It would have helped speed up the process if both were operational.
Just at the foot of the aerobridge, the staff scanned
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