As I have also taken a short trip to Seoul (from Taipei), I'll add a short report here rather than creating a new thread. Unlike Grahame (who was presumably being funded by his employer), I travelled in Economy Class and took the Bus to/from the Airport.
21/12/12 - TPE-ICN CX420 - B772 B-HNL
Only when writing this have I found that this Aircraft is Line #1 - the first Boeing prototype apparently!!! And I didnt get a photo either!!!
Flight time was 2:05 and being just on sunset when we departed not much to see. Loading in Economy was about 80%, and from what I could see, less than 50% in Business. The routing took us from Taipei to over Jaeju Island, thence up the west coast of Korea to Incheon with quite a display of lights below for the last 30 minutes or so. Landing was on 33L, which was surrounded by snow.
Cathay use the Satellite Concourse (the Gates numbered in the 100 series) so its a trip on the underground people mover (like in Zurich for instance) to get to the main terminal. Immigration lines were short, but slow, and sadly the baggage was even slower coming out - about 45 minutes after getting off the Aircraft.
I stayed in the Gangham area, and also visited the huge shopping mall under CEOX as well and the area up near the City Hall, Palace etc. What struck me was how modern Seoul is - clean and tidy, but Extremely COLD - the maximum was below zero in my 2 days there, and was -12 when I departed to the Airport at dawn on Monday. Very little wind, some snow about (it snowed a day or so before my arrival), but at least the sun shone - cover up everything with several layers, couldnt do much about the face, which felt like it was snap frozen. Like Grahame, I didnt do the DMZ tour, it was too cold, and also about $150 if you go the whole hog and go right to the border village (which is the ultimate idea of course).
24/12/12 - ICN-TPE CX421 - B773ER B-KQC
In contrast, this Aircraft was the newest in the Cathay fleet, and to my surprise I found that the seat was in the Premium Economy section - though sold as Economy and no hint on the seat layout when selecting. As the Aircraft had apparently sat at the gate overnight, there was a layer of ice on it, so we paid a visit to the de-icing bay on the way out to Runway 34. There is presumably a very important rule for pilots departing in the 33/34 direction - do NOT TURN RIGHT after takeoff - as doing so would have you over North Korea in a few minutes (you can actually see it after takeoff).
The trip back was along the same route, though being daylight and cloud free the coast (under white snow blanket) could be seen - lots of development there. Loading on the return was about 50% in Economy and less than 10% in Business (I could see only 3 seats occupied).
A few photos:
De-icing before departure
Lots of Asiana to see
Australian Coal (presumably) being burned to keep Korea warm
Cathay PE seating (2-4-2 layout, 4 rows)
