Airline Review: Asiana regional Business Class
The Asiana regional Business Class offers a decent comfort for shorter flights within Asia. In this review we’ll focus on the Airbus A321 business class, which you can find on many shorter routes between Seoul and destinations in Japan, China and Taiwan.
For my flight from Shanghai to Seoul, the Asiana regional Business Class appearted to be bookable relatively cheapely with Etihad Guest miles, which is why I went with this option.
- Airplane: Airbus A321
- Cabin Class: Business
- Daytime: Morning
- Food: Breakfast
- Seat Pitch: 39 Inch (99 Centimeter)
- Seat Width: 21 Inch (53 Centimeter)
The flight was also conveniently timed with a late morning departure in Shanghai and even thought it was no widebody flight (which you can also get on this route), I didn’t hesitate to book the connection and never regreted it as the Asiana regional Business Class is fairly good!
Seating in the Asiana regional Business Class
The Asiana regional Business Class comes with a typical regional configuration. There are three rows of Business Class in a 2-2 configuration, followed by Economy Class in a 3-3 configuration.
Business Class consits of large and comfortable cloth seats, which are absolutely fine for a flight with a duration of one to three hours.
The seats are definitely somewhat on the old side and have seen better days, but the padding is still good, so that’s not really an issue. The cabin generally feels much fresher than for example the Philippine Airlines regional Business Class.
The only matter with the old seats are the old controls, which are mechanic. It takes some strength to recline the seat or get the footrest out, but it’s still doable.
Storage is limited as it is the norm for regional Business Class products. There’s a large seat pocket with some magazines, where you can also add a laptop and a small compartment in-between each set of seats, but there’s no enclosed storage compartment.
As you’d expect in a configuration like that, the seat pitch is really good and it’s no problem to fully strech out during the flight.
Each seat comes with a small table on top of the middle console.
Then there’s also an extendable and foldable table, which is very large and allows for comfortable working on a laptop.
While this wouldn’t be a great product for a nighttime flight, it’s actually quite good for a daytime flight.
Catering in the Asiana regional Business Class
To my surprise, there were no welcome drinks in the regional Business Class. However, upon reaching cruising altitude, I was offered a drink as well as cold towels and immigration forms.
There was also a menu on my seat with the menu for the flight, which had two hot options on it.
I decided to go with the Frittata even though I’m not really into eggs in an airplane and I must say that the meal was nicely presented, including a table cloth.
The Egg Frittata as such was decent enough, but not really great, which is about what I expected. The potatoes served with it were quite good though.
Additionally, the tray everything was served on came some fresh fruits, which were yummy.
There was also a choice from the bread basket and I had a muffin, which was good as well.
Drinks were served during breakfast, before and after. I was asked for any further drinks about three times and thought that the crew was attentive enough and friendly, without being so over the top.
Entertainment in the Asiana regional Business Class
Each seat in the Asiana regional Business Class comes with a personal television, which looks a little ancient (the American Airlines regional First Class has much more modern screens for example).
You can choose from various movies, series and music options, which I’d say are fully sufficient for a flight of this length.
At the same time, the offerings are heavily focusing on the Asian market and while you can find about a dozen Western movies and as many shows, it’s worth noting.
There are also mediocre headphones on offer, which is about what you should expect on a regional Business Class flight.
Last but not least, there’s also a board magazine, which has some English content as well.
At the moment, there’s no WiFi offered in the Asiana regional Business Class, which is a minus.
Amenities in the Asiana regional Business Class
To my sruprise, there were neither pillows nor blankets on my seat upon boarding and I was also not asked whether I wanted one. However, I saw others request a pillow and blanket and getting one without issue. The only noteworthy amenity, which was available without requesting were slippers, which are a nice addition for regional flights.
While you wouldn’t get slippers in Europe, e.g. the Lufthansa Business Class or the British Airways Business Class, it’s actually the norm in Asia, so Asiana doesn’t really stand out here. It’s worth pointing out though that the toilets had some additional amenities and generally were clean.
Thus, there’s nothing bad to say about the Asiana regional Business Class in that regard, but also nothing to praise.
Overall impressions of the Asiana regional Business Class
I’m nobody who needs endless comfort on a flight with a duration of less than two hours and thus thought that the Asiana regional Business Class did the job well. The food was decent, while not perfect, the seats are comfortable without being the most modern. The entertainment choices are modest and though are the amenities. While this all might not sound especially amazing, it is a very good offering for a short flight, so I wouldn’t hesitate to book the Asiana regional Business Class again.
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