Airport question

[papaflamingo]

Has anyone connected through Seoul/Inchon (ICN) airport?  We are looking at flights from Atlanta to Hong Kong and Delta has one that has about a 2.5 hour connect time in ICN. Wondering from experience how easy it is to transfer from Delta to KAL?   

[tubeamps]

I flew Atlanta to Bangkok in 2019 with connection in Seoul. We had a non stop on KAL from Atlanta and the connecting flight was on the same 747 on KAL.

All in the same terminal, easy connection. The terminal in Seoul was very nice.

 

Return we had  KAL Hong Kong , connecting flight in Seoul and then non stop KAL to Atlanta.

Again, connections were easy. I don’t know if KAL still runs these flights but they were a good choice and an alternative to Delta.

 

I don’t know where the Delta gates were, but I assume they were in the same terminal.

[Chateaunole-du-pape]

2:30 should be plenty in ICN. KE is DL's joint venture partner so things are pretty well optimized between the two.

 

I noticed in another thread that you said you're retired airline... Active employee here. If you're buying tickets, it won't matter, of course, but if you're flying standby, you should know that ATL-ICN is often payload optimized; depending on heat, winds, how full the flight is booked with revenue passengers and how much cargo shows up, it’s not unusual for the flight to go out with empty seats and limited numbers or even zero nonrevs onboard. You probably already know this, but just in case…

[papaflamingo]

On 7/16/2023 at 6:59 AM, tubeamps said:

I flew Atlanta to Bangkok in 2019 with connection in Seoul. We had a non stop on KAL from Atlanta and the connecting flight was on the same 747 on KAL.

All in the same terminal, easy connection. The terminal in Seoul was very nice.

 

Return we had  KAL Hong Kong , connecting flight in Seoul and then non stop KAL to Atlanta.

Again, connections were easy. I don’t know if KAL still runs these flights but they were a good choice and an alternative to Delta.

 

I don’t know where the Delta gates were, but I assume they were in the same terminal.

Thanks.  The KAL flight to ICN is much more expensive than the Delta flight so I assume that Regent won't have contract rates on that flight.  So I'd be changing from Delta to KAL.  But thanks for the info.  

[papaflamingo]

14 hours ago, Chateaunole-du-pape said:

2:30 should be plenty in ICN. KE is DL's joint venture partner so things are pretty well optimized between the two.

 

I noticed in another thread that you said you're retired airline... Active employee here. If you're buying tickets, it won't matter, of course, but if you're flying standby, you should know that ATL-ICN is often payload optimized; depending on heat, winds, how full the flight is booked with revenue passengers and how much cargo shows up, it’s not unusual for the flight to go out with empty seats and limited numbers or even zero nonrevs onboard. You probably already know this, but just in case…

Yeah... I've been retired for 7 years.  I don't non-rev to cruises...especially on long flights.  I use Regent's air with deviation.  Even with an occasional upcharge it's cheaper than the Fly Confirmed for Less or Even Less programs.  😎

My days of sitting at the gate in an international airport watching seats disappear are gone.  I leave that "sporting event" to the young and adventurous (and those not flying S3B). 😜

Edited July 17, 2023 by papaflamingo

[Chateaunole-du-pape]

1 hour ago, papaflamingo said:

Yeah... I've been retired for 7 years.  I don't non-rev to cruises...especially on long flights.  I use Regent's air with deviation.  Even with an occasional upcharge it's cheaper than the Fly Confirmed for Less or Even Less programs.  😎

My days of sitting at the gate in an international airport watching seats disappear are gone.  I leave that "sporting event" to the young and adventurous (and those not flying S3B). 😜

Very nice, and smart. Our first-ever cruise was last month, on Regent, and we used some of our Delta Difference passes to get to ARN and then home from AMS. (Bought tickets from CPH to AMS on KL.) Nonrev definitely didn't seem like a good plan, especially for the middle of summer.

 

If you're using Regent air, does that mean you're not able to take advantage of their interline rates for the cruise itself? Sorry, new to all this... We booked an interline rate for our trip last month and it was great, but I had the impression that you couldn't add air on top of them.

[mj_holiday]

I have been looking for flights to Tokyo and thought I saw connections in S. Korea had changing airports, guess I need to look again.

[papaflamingo]

21 hours ago, Chateaunole-du-pape said:

Very nice, and smart. Our first-ever cruise was last month, on Regent, and we used some of our Delta Difference passes to get to ARN and then home from AMS. (Bought tickets from CPH to AMS on KL.) Nonrev definitely didn't seem like a good plan, especially for the middle of summer.

 

If you're using Regent air, does that mean you're not able to take advantage of their interline rates for the cruise itself? Sorry, new to all this... We booked an interline rate for our trip last month and it was great, but I had the impression that you couldn't add air on top of them.

Interline rates do not include Air.  Generally the only Interline discount is simply the cruise minus air.  HOWEVER they do sometimes offer GREAT interline rates.  What I do is decide if I'm using Regent Air or not then compare bottom line.  So far I have NOT been able to beat Regent Air using the Delta Employee discount (Fly Confirmed for Less).  We do have one cruise booked through Interline rates.  It was an INCREDIBLE deal.  We were scheduled to sail out of Miami on Navigator in March.  On Christmas we had a pipe freeze and had some pretty major damage.  Since it was after final payment we were obligated to go on the cruise.  The week of the cruise was when they were on the cruise.  Four days before we were to leave for Miami we got an offer from Regent to change the cruise to Nov. or Dec. and they'd give us about 20% of what we paid in a refund and put us on Mariner in a Penthouse.  Of course we leapt onto the deal as it allowed us to be home for our house repairs. We now have a 10 night Caribbean cruise in  a Penthouse A on Mariner for over (I won't tell you how much) cheaper than the cabin sells for.  It's  an amazing Interline Deal!  But those rarely happen for the cruises we are interested in.

Anyway, since you asked, I have not tried to book an Interline Rate then buy Regent Air.  You can ask a TA if that's possible.  But I suspect that it would be a lot higher than the published rebate for air.  

We usually use the Delta FCFL program for domestic air but Regent Air for International Business Class.  By the time you take the domestic discount (around $150 per person), add the cost of baggage (we usually take 2 pieces of luggage each since the cruises have been long), and consider that First Class allows 70 pounds per bag, it isn't much more to get a First Class seat.  

[Chateaunole-du-pape]

3 hours ago, papaflamingo said:

Interline rates do not include Air.  Generally the only Interline discount is simply the cruise minus air.  HOWEVER they do sometimes offer GREAT interline rates.  What I do is decide if I'm using Regent Air or not then compare bottom line.  So far I have NOT been able to beat Regent Air using the Delta Employee discount (Fly Confirmed for Less).  We do have one cruise booked through Interline rates.  It was an INCREDIBLE deal.  We were scheduled to sail out of Miami on Navigator in March.  On Christmas we had a pipe freeze and had some pretty major damage.  Since it was after final payment we were obligated to go on the cruise.  The week of the cruise was when they were on the cruise.  Four days before we were to leave for Miami we got an offer from Regent to change the cruise to Nov. or Dec. and they'd give us about 20% of what we paid in a refund and put us on Mariner in a Penthouse.  Of course we leapt onto the deal as it allowed us to be home for our house repairs. We now have a 10 night Caribbean cruise in  a Penthouse A on Mariner for over (I won't tell you how much) cheaper than the cabin sells for.  It's  an amazing Interline Deal!  But those rarely happen for the cruises we are interested in.

Anyway, since you asked, I have not tried to book an Interline Rate then buy Regent Air.  You can ask a TA if that's possible.  But I suspect that it would be a lot higher than the published rebate for air.  

We usually use the Delta FCFL program for domestic air but Regent Air for International Business Class.  By the time you take the domestic discount (around $150 per person), add the cost of baggage (we usually take 2 pieces of luggage each since the cruises have been long), and consider that First Class allows 70 pounds per bag, it isn't much more to get a First Class seat.  

Thanks for the detailed reply! I guess that now that we are hooked on Regent, we're going to have to start weighing the pros and cons of regular cruise fares that include air versus interline ones that do not. Our cruise last month was on a fantastic interline fare. Hopefully we'll continue to find them on itineraries that intrigue us! 

 

Sorry about your water damage - we are very familiar with them, as we've had to minor ones in the last three years, and my parents owned fire and water damage restoration businesses for years until they retired a few years ago. Glad to hear, however, that you were able to stay in town for the work and that you got an even better cruise deal out of the whole situation.