BIG, Blue and Beautiful!

The Airbus A380 has already been traversing the skies across several continents for four years, carrying the passengers of seven airlines. There is however one unmistakable shape in the sky - and certainly at airports too - and that is the A380 in Korean Air's distinctive blue. It is big, blue and almost without doubt, the most beautiful A380 in the world.

As the delivery of Korean Air's first A380 approached early this year, I harboured a not-so-secret dream to someday fly on it. It was only a matter of when ... for this is after all the A380 with the lowest number of seats - only 407 compared to around 520 for some of the other airline operators. This dream was fulfilled recently when I was booked to fly from Hong Kong to Seoul.

Flight KE608 was scheduled to depart from Hong Kong at 0050 hours and the late hour notwithstanding, Hong Kong International Airport's departure hall was still buzzing with activities. I ignored all the special offers and sales overtures coming from many of the shops and pushed aside all my craving for a bite at the various dining outlets still opened. I wanted to quickly make my way to gate 15 and got there just in time to see the powder-blue whale-like A380 picking its way towards the parking bay. It gingerly inched itself into the position, dwarfing both the tiny Hong Kong Express Airways B737-800 and the slender B777-300ER of British Airways. Several other passengers - including a few who were flying with other airlines - joined me in "pasting" our faces on the glass to get a good view of this mammoth of a plane.

Boarding commenced right on the dot at 0020 hrs - as stated on my boarding pass - and I quickly settled into my assigned seat 31C. In spite of a full flight, boarding was smooth and orderly. It helped that the cabin attendants - beautifully turned out in their smart powder-blue and beige uniform - were on hand to guide passengers to their seats and helped them with stowing their hand luggage. The overhead stowage bins were huge and swallowed all that the passengers brought onboard. The 34-inch seat pitch in Economy Class provided ample legroom for my 1.64m Asian frame but surprisingly accommodated my 1.8m neighbour with ease too. It was not long before the doors were closed and the aerobridge slowly moved away from the aircraft. We pushed back at 0100 hrs and silently, the four engines were started with barely a perceptible murmur. All around me - perhaps due to the hour of the day, many passengers were already asleep. We taxied towards runway 07R and the Captain came over the public address system to inform us of a potential delay in our take-off due to a long line of airplanes ahead of us. Finally at 0134 hrs, we turned onto the runway and without so much as a whisper, we surged forward powerfully. The climb-out was exceptionally quiet and around me, those already asleep continued with their slumber while those who were still awake did not even seem to notice that we were already airborne. Our 2,464 km flight to Seoul has begun.

My seat was very comfortable and was upholstered in a medium-blue fabric with a pyramid-shaped motif. The wall panels in the cabin were a pearly-white finish with little dots in silver. Complemented by the mood lighting - adjusted to a restful shade of blue, it seemed the perfect environment to settle into a good night's sleep. However, sleep was the last thing on my mind. Each seat has a good-sized inflight entertainment screen and control, a cup holder, a coat hanger and a seat pocket for the reading materials and safety card. Even before we pushed back, I was already finding my way on the IFE screen and settled on a view of the A380 from a camera mounted near the top of the tail. This afforded me an overview of the A380 and I could even see some of the aircraft ahead of us waiting to take off from Hong Kong! On a daylight flight, this feature is a definite must-try for aviation enthusiasts!

The fasten seatbelt sign was quickly turned off and soon afterwards, honey roasted peanuts and drinks were served and 30 minutes after takeoff, a light meal was served. Having flown many times with Korean Air, I have long decided on what I wanted to eat - Bibimbap. Rice cooked perfectly to suit the Korean palate - sticky with each grain of rice retaining its shine - is progressively folded into a mixture of soya bean sprouts, cucumber, carrot, shiitake mushroom, spinach and topped with a generous helping of Gochujang (Korean hot pepper paste) and a sprinkling of what must be the most fragrant Korean sesame oil. An incredibly delicious and healthy meal washed down with a piping hot soya bean paste soup.

After dinner, it was time to check out another unique feature onboard this A380 - Korean Air is the only airline to have a duty free display area at the rear of the main deck. Here, duty free liquour, perfumes and other cosmetic items are displayed on open shelves. A strong magnet under each item ensures that even in the strongest turbulence, these displays remain on the shelves. Passengers come here to browse through the duty free items but return to their seats to make their purchases.

A whole menu of new Hollywood releases and classics, movies from Europe, Asia and Korea, short features including a 45-minute National Geographic documentary on the construction of the A380 are available to entertain those for whom sleep takes a back seat - and I am one of them. There were far more choices than I could possibly wish for and I finally elected to watch "A  Better Life", a movie about an illegal Mexican immigrant in the US who toiled to lift his son from the rough neighbourhood they live in and give him a better shot at life. After lots of twists and turns in the plot plus a few tender moments, the show ended and signalled its time for me to get a little rest. There were still the many interesting articles in the inflight magazine "Morning Calm". inflight entertainment guide "Beyond", but these just have to wait. I have decided to take this magazine with me to perhaps pass time in the hotel room in Seoul. For now, a little shut-eye seems like a great idea.

Perhaps the weather along the entire route was extremely favourable but then again, perhaps it was because the A380 flies so well - the entire flight was so smooth with not a single bump. After being in the air for about 2.5 hours, I could feel the initial descent from our cruising altitude of 31,000 feet being initiated. Once again, the Captain's voice came on air to inform us of our expected arrival time in Seoul, the weather - a chilly one degree Celcius and thank us for choosing to fly with Korean Air. The light around us rose in intensity and soon the cabin was bathed in a brilliant white light. Immediately, the cabin attendants paced through the cabin to ensure that all safety guidelines are adhered to.

The sky outside was still dark when we descended over the sea towards Incheon Airport's runway 33L. Once again, I turned my inflight entertainment screen to the tail-mounted camera view and I could see the A380 heading towards the now visible runway lights. We gently touched down at 0517 hrs (Seoul time) and there was a noticeable absence of reverse thrust or braking. We turned off the runway and took just three minutes to reach the designated parking position at gate 10. Deplaning was once again smoothly accomplished with the crew bidding their goodbyes at the door. Instead of making a dash for the immigration counters, many passengers actually remained for some minutes at the airport terminal's glass window to photograph the A380 gleaming under the ramp's floodlights. I too could not resist another picture to add to my collection.

    

Flight : KE608 / 5 December 2011

Routing : Hong Kong - Seoul

Aircraft : Airbus A380-861 (HL7611)

Overall Experience : A most enjoyable flight, great service and food.