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This was the second leg of our Singapore to Nagoya routing via Incheon on Asiana Airlines, as we went to chase the sakura for the second year in a row. At just under two hours, the Incheon to Nagoya flight is short enough that there isn’t a huge amount to cover. The seat was comfortable enough for the duration, the food was decent for a regional hop, and nothing went wrong. For a connecting flight after an overnight red-eye, that’s really all you need.
We transited through Incheon after our overnight flight from Singapore, so by the time we boarded this connecting flight, we were running on very little sleep. The main priority was getting to Nagoya without any hassle, and this flight delivered on that.
Check-in, transit and boarding
After checking out the newly renovated Korean Air Prestige Lounge, we headed straight to the gates. We had priority boarding as Star Alliance Gold members, which meant getting on early and settling in quickly. Nothing else notable about the boarding process.
The seat
The aircraft was an Airbus A330-300 in a 3-3-3 configuration in economy. The plane was visibly old. The cabin showed its age in the worn seat fabric, scuffed armrests, and the general feel of an aircraft that’s been flying for well over a decade. Compared to the A350-900 we flew on the Singapore to Incheon leg, the difference in cabin age was immediately apparent.
In-flight entertainment and Wi-Fi
The IFE screens are small and clearly from an older generation, with a wired handset controller that gives away how long ago the system was installed. The screen size and resolution won’t impress anyone coming from newer aircraft, but for a 1.5-hour flight, it hardly matters. We didn’t use the IFE at all, having slept through most of the flight after the early morning transit. If you’re on a longer Asiana A330-300 route, the dated IFE would be more of an issue.
Food and drinks
A snackbox with a hot meal of pork and mash gratin was offered during the flight. We were too tired to take photos of the food, and we didn’t end up eating the food. For a short regional flight, having a hot meal served at all is decent. Many carriers on comparable routes would offer a cold sandwich or nothing.
Concluding thoughts
There isn’t a huge amount to say about a 1.5-hour economy class flight on an ageing A330-300, and in some ways that’s the best outcome. It got us from Incheon to Nagoya, the seat was comfortable enough for the duration, and we were given a hot meal on a flight short enough that many carriers wouldn’t bother. The aircraft is old and the IFE is outdated, but for a short regional hop after connecting from a longer itinerary, none of that particularly mattered to us. It did what it needed to do, and we landed in Nagoya rested enough to start our cherry blossom trip.
