Booking The Trip: A (slightly crazier) Southeast Asian Path to India
Review: P.F Changs LAX (Priority Pass Restaurant)
Review: EVA Air 777-300ER Premium Economy Class Los Angeles to Taipei
Review: Plaza Premium Lounge Taipei Terminal 2 Zone A
Review: UNI Air A321-200 Economy Class Taipei to Seoul Incheon
Review: The Millenium Seoul Hilton
Trip Photos: A Day and a Half in Seoul
Review: Korean Air First Class Lounge Seoul Incheon
Review: Korean Air 777-300ER Kosmos Suites First Class Seoul Incheon to Bangkok
Review: Le Meridien Suvarnabhumi Bangkok Golf Resort & Spa
Review: Cathay Pacific Lounge Bangkok
Review: Miracle Business Class Lounge Concourse G Bangkok
Review: Malaysia Airlines 737-800 Business Class Bangkok to Kuala Lumpur
Review: Malaysia Airlines Satellite Golden Business Class Lounge Kuala Lumpur
Review: Kuala Lumpur A330-300 Business Class Kuala Lumpur to Mumbai
Review: SpiceJet 737-900ER SpiceMax Pune to Goa
Review: Air India A321-200 Economy Class Goa to Mumbai
Review: Air India A320Neo Economy Class Mumbai to Bengaluru
Review: Air India A319-100 Economy Class Bengaluru to Mumbai
Review: GVK International Business Class Lounge West Wing Mumbai
Review: Singapore Airlines 777-300ER Business Class Mumbai to Singapore
Review: Crowne Plaza Hotel Singapore
Trip Photos: 8 hours in Singapore
Review: Singapore Airlines A380-800 NEW Business Class Singapore to Hong Kong
Review: Singapore Airlines SilverKris Business Class Lounge Hong Kong
Review: United Club Lounge Hong Kong
Review: Thai Airways Royal Orchid Lounge Hong Kong
Review: Hong Kong Airlines Club Bauhinia Lounge Hong Kong
Review: EVA Air A330-300 Premium Laurel Class Hong Kong to Taipei
Review: EVA Air 777-300ER Premium Economy Class Taipei to Los Angeles
YOUTUBE: EVA Air: Los Angeles to Taipei
YOUTUBE: UNI Air: Taipei to Seoul Incheon
YOUTUBE: Korean Air: Seoul Incheon to Bangkok
YOUTUBE: Malaysian Airlines: Bangkok to Kuala Lumpur
YOUTUBE: Malaysian Airlines: Kuala Lumpur to Mumbai
YOUTUBE: SpiceJet: Pune to Goa
YOUTUBE: Air India: Goa to Mumbai
YOUTUBE: Air India: Mumbai to Bengaluru
YOUTUBE: Air India: Bengaluru to Mumbai
YOUTUBE: Singapore Airlines: Mumbai to Singapore
YOUTUBE: Singapore Airlines: Singapore to Hong Kong
YOUTUBE: EVA Air: Hong Kong to Taipei
YOUTUBE: EVA Air: Taipei to Los Angeles
After spending a short while in the mediocre Plaza Premium Lounge, it was off to my flight to Seoul. Now as a reminder in case you missed the previous reports, even though UNI Air is a regional subsidiary of star alliance member EVA Air, UNI Air itself isn’t a part of Star Alliance. This is why I wasn’t able to use any EVA Lounge, even with Star Alliance Gold Status, and something to keep in mind for the future.
We were boarding from a remote gate. First to board were Business class passengers and some of EVA’s elite members. Remember, UNI isn’t star alliance so no priority boarding benefits are given to any non-EVA Star Alliance silver/gold members.
In either case, we were bus boarding so it didn’t make a difference. Half the plane was on the first bus itself.
Here was a look at the plane taking me to Seoul today.
TPE-ICN
Airbus A321-200SL
6/2/19
Well this is the best picture I was able to get of my seat since I was holding up a huge line that had formed and I don’t like being “that guy”.
This plane, its amenities, seats, etc is the exact same as an EVA Air A321. Everything is the exact same. The only difference for a passenger honestly is that one earns miles on non-EVA frequent flyer programs and one does not. As a matter of fact, my flight is operated by EVA Air planes as BR170 on Odd numbered dates and UNI Air planes as B7170 on even numbered dates. The flight date here was June 2nd, so I got an unlucky day.
The seat itself was not well padded on the back or front as you can see its one of those slimline seats that you have here. Anyways, their aircraft don’t operate long flights so ultimately, it wasn’t a big deal. The headrest was surprisingly decent for my liking. At 5′ 10″ (1.78m), the legroom was more than enough for me with room to spare. If you have any items to store under the seat in front of you, do what I do and store it behind your legs so you can maximize your legroom.
There were also individual air nozzles and lights at every seat which is something that I like to have especially at this time of year when this part of the world is humid.
At the seat waiting for us were earphones. I didn’t have any need for them and even if I did, I have my own earphone I’d gladly pick over these ones. There wasn’t even an inflight entertainment system at each seat, nor were there power ports, so not too sure what these would be for.
Eventually we pushed back and had a long taxi to runway 23L where we’d be taking off from.
From there, it was throttle and roll!
The views were beautiful as we could see the greenery upon departure out of Taipei. I’d gladly repeat that takeoff 10 more times to see that lovely landscape.
As we climbed through the clouds we hit a good amount of monsoon turbulence though nothing like the worst I’ve had.
For pretty much the full flight until we reached South Korea, there were wonderful sky views from my side facing east.
After the seatbelt signs were switched off, the crew got to work but there was no movement in the cabin for a bit. A short while later, the crew came through with meals for those who placed special meal orders first. Then, the crew came about with the normal meal for the rest of the passengers.
There wasn’t any menu which is perfectly alright for this 1.5 hour flight but on the cart the crew brought around, there was a laminated sheet of paper that had a single item written on it: “Chicken with rice”. So in short, that was the only meal option for everyone. Imagine being a vegetarian and not ordering a special meal on this flight; that would’ve been a problem.
At the same time, one set of crew brought around the meal cart, and a second set of crew was righr behind them offering alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. I went with water. Another crew member came around right after that with hot tea and coffee. It was almost like watching an assembly line. First came the meal, then came beverages, then came tea/coffee.
Anyways, the meal was a chicken with rice dish that had a side of yogurt and fruits. Given the time of the meal (around 845am ish) I wasn’t sure whether they were trying to go for breakfast or lunch here.
The container did’nt specify what flavor the yogurt was but I was 90% sure it was strawberry. The yogurt was tasty and sweet the way a strawberry yogurt should be, but it was extremely liquidy as if they had left it in the sun for a while.
The chicken was mixed with mushrooms and onions in some curry and was nice and tasty. The curry with nice was a flavorful combo and I enjoyed the mix. The steamed veggies were done nicely but weren’t seasoned or anything, so it was fairly tasteless. But I don’t mind; I do appreciate the attempt to keep things healthier with the cauliflower, broccoli, and carrots added to the mix.
There were also oranges and apples which tasted fresh and juicy……as they should be.
Overall, I was mostly happy with the meal. It wasn’t an elaborate meal, but it was a nice offering for a flight that was 2 hours long.
For the rest of the flight, we just had fabulous views going towards Seoul.
We eventually came up on South Korea and rode along the west coast for a while.
Finally, we began a long descent into a very smoggy Seoul.
And we had our final approach into Incheon Airport.
We taxiied to our gate which took around 5 minutes. Then, deplaned by jetway
And here’s a look at my plane.
Overall, this was a pleasant flight; there really isn’t much to say. I enjoyed almost all aspects of the flight without any major flukes. The only downsides were that I wish the seats at least had a USB port which is a major part of travel today. Another big negative is this being a non-EVA flight, so gold members can’t even receive any priority benefits unless you are an EVA star alliance gold member. So in either case, the food was good for the flight time, and I enjoyed it.