Background
As part of our trip across South Korea, we made our way to Busan. Our next part of the trip would take us to the Island of Jeju, on the Southern part of South Korea.
Video reports:
Korean Air KE908 - London to Seoul - A380-800 (Economy)
KTX 115 - Seoul to Singyeongju - First Class
Korean Air KE1005 - Busan-Jeju - Airbus 330-300
Jeju Air - 7C176 - Jeju to Seoul Gimpo - Boeing 737-800
This series of trip reports will be split into 4 different reports:
1. Our flight from London to Seoul
2. Korea Domestic flights - Busan to Jeju and Jeju to Seoul Gimpo
3. Spring airlines to Shijiazhuang
4. Return flight from Beijing to London via Amsterdam
Part 2.a: Busan to Jeju
Having traversed our way to Busan, we wanted to head to the famous islands of Jeju for a couple of days before we left the lovely country of South Korea.
We needed to return the car, and the Avis office only opened at 8:30 in the morning. So the best possible options were either the 10:35 Jeju Air or the 10:10 Korean Air. There was a price difference of around £2 per ticket (Jeju being the cheaper one). But given that the Korean Air flight was earlier (was not the case after all
)and we would also get to fly on a wide bodied aircraft for such a short hop, we decided on boking the Korean Air option.I tried to book using my Delta Sky Miles but it was not letting me do it. So ended up booking it via the Korean Air Website.
Booked at 89,200 KRW per head (Approx. GBP60 per head)
The website was easy to navigate and hassle-free. From start to finish, booked the tickets in under 10 minutes.
We were scheduled to be on an Airbus 330-300.
Was supposed to be my first flight on Korean Air, but was actually my second. More so, An Airbus 330-300 for a 55 minute flight!
Thanks for GCMAP for the below illustration:
Korean Air - KE1005
Route: PUS - CJU
Flight Reg:HL7586; Delivered to Korean Air on Aug 2000.
Aircraft Type: Airbus 330-300
Seat: 52H
Flight time: 10:10 - 11:05 (11:56 - 12:46 )
Actual flight time: 50 min
Distance: 181Miles
Load: 75% load
15 Sep 2017
My Log book: 2nd Flight on Korean Air/ 3rd flight on Airbus 330-300/ 140th Total overall flight
Previous day of this flight I tried to check in online but was unable to due to credit card verification needed before flying. Hence was asked to check in at the airport.
On the day of the flight upon checking the status of the aircraft realised that our flight would be delayed. Due to late arriving from Bangkok. Delayed by over an hour. This was confirmed by an email sent by Korean air.
Dropped the car off at the airport and proceeded to the check in desks. As expected credit card was checked and baggage dropped. Fairly seamless and efficient checking in. Post security we were airside by 930.
Check in desks at Busan
Busan Domestic Terminal
Self-Check-in; did not work for me.
A change from Hyundai or Kia
Where do you want to go today? Jeju or Seoul?
Waiting for our luggage to pass security screening
Airside at Busan
Spent some time writing up some report and walking around the terminal.
Aircraft from Bangkok landed at 1025. Delayed by an hour and 15 minutes. Landing video along with my Video report.
Plane Spotting at Busan
VietJet A320
Quiet zone in the terminal
Fair play by Korean Air
Boarding commenced at 1110 and quickly boarded with families with infants and children given priority boarding.
40 minutes flight time announced.
Further delay due to traffic at Busan. Sigh!
We finally boarded an hour and 10 minutes late. We had to get bussed to the aircraft.
Boarding gates
Bus to the aircraft
There is our ride - A 17 year old A330-300
Once again, the aircraft looked spotless and immaculate. Warm and cordial welcome on board, akin to the previous experience with Korean Air. Excellent leg space and comfortable seating.
Spacious seats
IFE not switched on for this sector
Cabin view during boarding
Neighbour at Busan
Reading material
Departed the gate at 1150 and airborne at 1200.
A very hard and steep take off.
Flying at a low 15000 feet throughout the flight. Got to see clear views of the sea until we hit the clouds over Jeju.
Beverage during this short hop
Cabin View
This is service!
A sticker stuck in front of your seat in case you were sleeping while the service had commenced. Class!
Was expecting a lot more turbulence but it was a fairly comfortable ride. It was just as we approached Jeju there was a bit of gusty winds which the old girl fought very well.
Landed at Jeju an hour and a half delayed. Both the times with Korean Air and both delayed flight. Not the best on-time experience for us on this trip.
Verdict
Similar to the previous experience with Korean Air, their soft product seems to be very good and up to scratch. It is their timing that let us down on both occasions.
Service was excellent and although it was a short hop to Jeju, given the windy conditions outside, we were in relative comfort.
At Jeju
Neighbour at Jeju
Exiting the aircraft - KE A330 Business class
Baggage collection
LOL!
Jeju Arrivals
Heading towards Car rental collection
Part 2.b: Jeju to Seoul Gimpo
On the day we were flying from Korea to China (Shijiazhuang) we needed to get to Seoul from Jeju. Given that this was the most travelled route (Domestic or international) in the world, we were not short of choices.
We had all 6 of the 7 Korean carriers to choose from (Jin Air do not fly this route, at the time of booking).
Our flight from Seoul (Incheon) was at 22:10 so the plan was to get reach Gimpo (All Jeju flight fly into Gimpo, unfortunately) around 18:30. We had quite a few options but the best ones were with Eaststar Jet, T'Way, Jeju Air and Asiana.
T'way was the cheapest of the 4 and the timing was good too. But I wanted an airline that had a few flights between 5 and 6 PM, enabling me to reach Gimpo before 19:00 which would give us 3 hours before our next flight from ICN. This was in case a flight was cancelled, with the hope of being put on the next flight and still would have time to make it to the next flight
So that ruled out T'Way and Asiana. Jeju looked the best since they had a flight departing at 17:20 and 17:50, scheduled to reach Gimpo at 18:30 and 19:00 respectively.
So Jeju Air 7C 122 (17:20 - 18:30) was the chosen flight.
Not the best website. I had to enter all the details and then at the final page (Payment Page) for some reason the payment did not go through and I had no indication if the payment had gone through or not! It looked like it had not gone through and no emails too. Subsequently, almost booked with Eastar Jet, but Jeju Air had slightly better flight options so thought of re-trying. This time it worked. Bit of a scuffle but we got there in the end. KRW 344,000 for 4 tickets.
2 weeks before departing to Seoul, upon pondering if we had enough time to transfer between our Gimpo and Incheon, it looked like we were cutting it too close. We were only scheduled to land at 18:30 and we had our next flight (Spring airlines to Shijiazhuang) at 22:10 from Incheon.
Upon checking Jeju Air website, I realised that it was relatively simple to cancel tickets with a basic £1.25 cancellation charge! Result!
20 minutes later, got ourselves booked on the 16:00 flight, arriving at Gimpo at 17:00, giving us sufficient time to transfer to Incheon for our onward flight. 7C 176 (16:00 - 17:00)
Jeju Air - 7C 176
Route: CJU - GMP
Flight Reg:HL8064; Built in May 2009; Delivered to Jeju on July 2016; previously with RyanAir.
Aircraft Type: Boeing 737-800
Seat: 3F
Flight time: 16:00 - 17:00 ( 16:13 - 17:08)
Actual flight time: 55 min
Distance: 280 Miles
Load: Full load
16 Sep 2017
My Log book: 1st Flight on Jeju Air/ 25th flight on Boeing 737-800/ 141st Total overall flight
Jeju Domestic departures
The day before flight, web check In was possible and It was seamless. Just select seats and that’s it, boarding passes issued.
On the day bag drop and security was seamless and quick. We had 45 minutes before boarding commencing.
Boarding was early and all on board before 1600.
Check in desks at Jeju Airport
Did not need to try these as I had checked in online
Augmented Reality screen at Jeju
Airport Mall
Not so busy at the other check in desks
Heading towards security
FIDS at Jeju
Spotting at Jeju
Plethora of Korean Air
Imposing beauty
Have you seen any other terminal building with this shade of 'RED' all over?
Duty free at Jeju
Our original gate
Our new 'makeshift' gate
All charging point had been taken
Busy time at Jeju but I think it's normal over here.
Doors closed at 1559 and push back at 1600.
We roared down the runway and it was a hard and near vertical take-off and above the cloudy sky of Jeju in absolutely no time.
It was a very windy day outside. Considering the weather outside it was a very smooth take off.
Time to board - Bus to the aircraft
Another glimpse of the beauty while being bussed to the aircraft
Our ride to Seoul Gimpo - An 8 year old ex-Ryanair Boeing 737-800
On-board - a bit tight but very much acceptable
Neighbours at Jeju - this was the 16:05 to Gimpo
Reading on-board
No announcements from the cockpit. Just the cabin crew confirming with the passengers to check if we were in the correct flight. As there was another Jeju air flight to Gimpo in 5 minutes.
Take off from Jeju
Cabin view
En-route to Seoul
Snazzy golf course
Post take off with did get an announcement from the cockpit informing us we were cruising at 25000 feet and expected to land at Gimpo at 1705. Clear weather expected.
Rest of the flight was uneventful in a good way and we were at Seoul Gimpo right on time, first time this trip.
Remote parking at Seoul Gimpo
Thanks for an on-time flight
Baggage collection
Exiting Seoul Gimpo and towards Airport Express (AREX) Station towards Seoul Incheon
Verdict
Jeju Air is a perfect example of no-frill flying. It does exactly what it says it does - No Frill flying. Everything is just basic and it just works well. Flights are fairly priced and I especially liked the ease of which flight cancellations and amendments are possible.
First experience with Jeju Air and it was a good one. Shame, as I realised that they fly direct to Shijiazhuang from Jeju, but was unable to book via the website. Perhaps only for chartered holidays.
Looking forward to the rest of our trip.
Hope you liked the first report in this series. Stay tuned for more. Until then happy and safe flying!
Adios!
Snapshot of our trip in Korea
Our rides:
In Seoul - Hyundai Avante (A good ride with excellent fuel economy)
In Gyeongju and Busan - Hyundai Sonata (Very good drive and a motorway cruiser)
In Jeju - Hyundai Ioniq (Fully electric; a bit nerve-wracking as I was constantly calculating my distance and charge left. A very good drive nevertheless)
At Bukchon Hanok Village, Seoul
Secret garden tour at Changdeokgung Palace, Seoul
Night street food market at Myeong-dong, Seoul
Seoraksan National Park
The DMZ
Gyeongju Donggung Palace and Wolji Pond (Anapji Pond)
Manjanggul Lava Cave [UNESCO World Heritage], Jeju
Jeongbang Waterfall, Jeju
