When it comes to business class, branding is big. British has “Club World,” Delta has “Delta One,” United has “Polaris,” EVA has “Royal Laurel” — the list goes on and on.
The Korean airline Asiana is popular and I’ve wanted to try it for a while, but I think the name they picked for their premium cabin — Business “Smartium” Class — is a bit goofy. But hey, maybe they picked the name for a reason. Maybe it was designed by geniuses. Maybe it’s such an amazing product that it’s the only smart way to fly.
Asiana Boeing 777-200ER – Photo: Manu Venkat | AirlineReporter
Well, there’s only one way to find out! Read on as we share our experience on a long-haul Smartium flight from Seoul/Incheon to London on a 777-200ER. We’ll rate each part of the experience, and at the end you can decide for yourself whether the product is as smart as the name suggests.
What better welcome than a massive A380 model? – Photo: Manu Venkat | AirlineReporter
In a world of rising air travel passenger volumes, airline lounges walk a fine line. They need to cater to large crowds of travelers, while still preserving an aura of luxury and classiness. What sort of airline might you trust to strike the right balance between size and sumptuousness? How about South Korea-based Asiana Airlines, which has built a strong enough reputation for itself to earn an elite five-star rating from the aviation rating website Skytrax?
Read on for a photo tour of Asiana’s flagship business class lounge in Seoul Incheon International Airport (ICN), and see for yourself if it’s the sort of place you’d want to spend a long layover.
The 2013 World Airline Award winner was Emirates; who will it be this year? Photo: Brandon Farris
The 2014 World Airline Awards were held recently, in conjunction with the Farnborough Air Show, and the winners have been announced. In a star-studded event held at the old Royal Aircraft Establishment’s Wind Tunnels, the winners were announced by Skytrax, who manages the awards. Some of the winners this year came as a bit of a surprise.
The World Airline Awards are an independent and totally non-biased process, with nearly 19 million people voting online (between August 2013 to May 2014) to decide who has the best services, cabins, cabin crews, and even lounges. This is not just for your big name full-service airlines; even Low Cost Carriers have their own categories! More than 105 different nationalities participated in this year’s survey and helped to define who was going to be named “World’s Best Airline”.
This could be the last Boeing 777-200 built. Reg #HL8284.
This Asiana Airlines Boeing 777-200ER took off from Paine Field on Friday a little bit before 10:00am heading to South Korea. Typically a 777 being delivered is not a huge deal, but this could turn out to be the very last Boeing 777-200ER ever built.
“At the present time, there are no 777-200ERs in the production system,” Boeing spokesperson Elizabeth Fischtziur confirmed to AirlineReporter.com. However, Boeing is still offering the model to airlines and the 777-200LR still have deliveries set until 2014.
Asiana Airlines Flight 214 burns at SFO. Photo by Nick Rose.
Local San Fransisco photographer Nick Rose took these photos shortly after Asiana Airlines Flight 214 crashed at SFO. He as having lunch and heard about the crash and rushed to SFO. For the San Mateo Daily Journal, Nick photographed the airport’s last two crash drills [see read the first and second] and said it was “crazy,” seeing a real event.
He was kind enough to allow us at AirlineReporter.com to share his photos.
Parts of the 777 on the field while the United 747 waits. Photo by Nick Rose.
