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Lucky Break

I’ve been complaining for a couple weeks about my horrid travel plans to and from Korea. The original plan had been to take a direct Asiana Airlines flight both to and back. If you haven’t flown Asiana or Korean Air, and have only flown international on the likes of United or Northwest, you are definitely missing out and probably won’t understand why just this very fact is disgusting.

I noted that United boasts the most legroom among US airlines in the coach cabin. That legroom is utterly cramped compared to that you get from Asiana or Korean Air. That is unless you cough up an extra $125 each way for Economy Plus.

Service is tons better, too.

And the food. Oh my god the food. Airline food in general seems to have only marginally gotten better since my first horrid memories of encountering the stuff 20+ years ago. But when I fly Korean Air or Asiana, I actually look forward to the meal service. It’s not some amazing gourmet meal—some of them still come in the foil wrapped trays—but it doesn’t smell like industrial waste and the flavor doesn’t fall into the chemical spectrum.

If you have a taste for Korean food, even better. Always go for the option that is Korean-style and just in case ask for the 고추장 (red pepper paste) sauce. If you find the food a little bland or not to your palate, but you like spicy food, the stuff will do wonders. (Bonus tip: Pretty much any Korean who backpacks a lot knows to bring a small jar of 고추장 anywhere they go. You can live on just rice (a staple world-round) and that alone.)

That was the original flight. A direct 12-hour flight via Asiana from San Francisco to Incheon/Seoul (an amazing airport). Instead, due to last minute schedule changes, I had to fly United. 2 stops. 6 AM flight. Total 24+ hour travel time, each way.

The flight out was not fun, trust me. From leaving for the airport at 3 AM after having had no sleep the entire day. Dragging bags through the long-term parking structure, to getting through 3 airports, all with very little sleep. I was just happy to land.

Now, there is the flight back. I only just got back from3~4 days in Cambodia. The entire family got sick in some way or another, about half of all the people on the trip got fairly sick at some point. I had that to worry about, the new TSA restrictions on travel to/in the US in response to the terrorist event, and the same 24+ hour travel itinerary on United.

But, I am now happily awaiting a direct flight to San Francisco. It leaves 3 hours later than my original flight. It’s still United. But, it’s a direct flight, meaning I can do some duty-free shopping and not worry about having to go through security two more times, and it will arrive 12 hours earlier than my original flight plan.

If not for a very coincidental occurrence of events, this would not have happened. Korea has been seeing some relatively heavy snowfalls this past week and, together with concerns about longer delays at the airport, I came up to Seoul to stay with some relatives and get an early start in the morning.

The drive to the airport was extremely uneventful and I arrived pretty early. The United counter wasn’t even open yet, which was somewhat annoying. I had checked in the day before and just needed to drop off one bag, but there was no sign, no line.

I waited half an hour in some makeshift line that people had begun to form only to be told that we were standing in the wrong place and to go join another much longer line that had apparently formed on the other end of the counter. Still near the front of the line, but still a little peeved, I wasn’t happy to see the reps set up a bag drop line and to see a large crowd already queuing up.

So, I just sat in line and after a little bit of bustle because of a group in front of me that decided to check in as a group, thereby letting me get to a rep more quickly, I was finally checking my bags. All goes as usual, my bag is tagged, I get my pile of boarding passes and passport, but I don’t see my bag receipt. “Wait a second!” I say. The rep says she stuck it to my boarding pass but it isn’t there. She quickly stops the belt and apologizing for the mistake find the receipt on her desk. As she starts to hand me the passes with the receipt attached, a senior United rep walks over.

The new rep asks her where I’m going and asks if my bags haven’t been sent in already. They exchange only a few words in what I swear must have been code when I’m asked again where I’m going. After confirming my destination she asks if I’d rather take a direct flight leaving a few hours later, same gate, much earlier arrival time and… well, here I am enjoying the free Internet lounge.

Apparently, someone on the direct flight to San Francisco had a comment on their visa status, and my first flight to Tokyo being overbooked I got to jump flights. I didn’t get any vouchers or a bump to business class, but I’m happy to be taking a direct flight. I was not looking forward to getting off two planes and going through more security checks. Easy duty-free shopping without worrying about additional security checks is definitely another bonus.