LKL considers the flight schedules and concludes that a critical vacation problem might just be soluble.
“Taekwondo, Technology and Kimchi” was the title of the talk given by the KTO at the KCC on Tuesday this week. The talk was billed as follows:
Culture shock, modern, unique, dynamic, sparkling, friendly, technological, ancient! These are all words used to describe this highly advanced and technologically superior destination that hides a scenically stunning landscape with a history dating back 5000 years. Korea invites you to explore their tradition, culture and way of life. The lecture will try and enhance your knowledge, awareness and wish to visit the country.
It must have been an action-packed talk. I arrived 15 minutes after it was due to start, and it had already finished. The Asiana representative was already well stuck in to her powerpoint about the airline’s loyalty programme, seat pitch and in-flight service awards. All of which seemed impressive enough.
What caught my attention about the presentation, though, was Asiana’s connecting flights from Seoul. Incheon may indeed be turning into a “hub” airport. Why do I mention this? Why should I care about anything apart from the convenience of flights back to London? Why should I want to come to Seoul, only to fly on somewhere else?
Well, I love coming to Korea on my own to do all the things I did when I came in July – including the sort of thing which if LKL were a business would be fully tax-deductible. But one of the difficulties for me in selecting Korea as a destination for the main annual holiday with my better half is that, for a main holiday, we like to have a week in a quiet resort, with a pile of books, guaranteed sun, a pool or tranquil clean ocean water, good food and not many other people. The first week or two of the vacation can be active: seeing the sights, doing the museums and the like. But we have to end the vacation with peace and total inactivity. In the crowded Korean peninsula, a resort meeting all those requirements is not something you’re going to find. Those are the sorts of places you find in the Maldives, Thailand, and Australia. So, in order to assemble an acceptable vacation proposition for my better half, I need to combine Korea with another destination. And I have to be able to get there fast so as not to waste precious holiday hours.
Asiana’s choice may or may not be comparable to Korean Air’s. But their direct flights from Incheon include Phuket and Bankgok, as well as destinations in Vietnam, Australia and the Philippines. Certainly three of these four countries (I don’t know about the Philippines) have the peaceful resorts which might be suitable add-ons to a Korea trip. Something I’ll definitely be exploring another year.
All companies, in whatever industry, will trot out their various awards in a sales pitch. What is not clear to the audience is whether the awards carry any prestige or not, and you would need an independent travel industry expert to arbitrate on that point. But Asiana seem to tick all the boxes with awards, mileage programmes, chauffeurs, lounges, catering and suchlike, and are just about there on video on demand. I might have commented after Asiana’s last presentation that though their business class seats are “flat” they are not actually horizontal. This time round we were told that the seats reclined to an angle of 167.7 degrees. Our speaker then pointed out that aircraft typically have their noses pointing upwards by about 5 degrees in order to stay in the air, so that the effective angle of the fully reclined seat is 172.7 degrees. And what’s 7.3 degrees between friends?