KoreanKorean Air KE787 ICN–FUK A350-900 Economy Review
Hello,
Today I’m sharing my flight review of Korean Air KE787 from Incheon International Airport to Fukuoka.
Korean Air operates this route with an A350-900 (A359) originally used by Asiana Airlines, which made me curious enough to fly up from Busan to Incheon just to try it out.
For this trip, I went to the airport the night before the flight, cleared immigration into the airside area, slept at the lounge, and boarded in the morning.
Incheon International Airport Terminal 2
I arrived at Incheon International Airport Terminal 2 the night before my flight.
It was close to midnight, and the terminal was almost completely empty.
Since I was flying Korean Air, I’d already done mobile check-in and had my boarding pass ready. Without checked baggage, you can clear immigration the evening before — which is exactly what I did.
So with just a carry-on, I headed to the departure area.
After midnight, only a single immigration lane is operating.
When I first walked up to the departure hall, the lights were off and everything looked closed — I thought I might have to sleep landside. Thankfully, one lane was open and I was able to get through.
The airside area had fewer than ten people in total.
My plan was to grab a meal at the 24-hour SkyHub Lounge, doze off in a massage chair, and then board.
With the whole terminal essentially to myself, it felt surreal.
Terminal 2 SkyHub Lounge
I settled into the nearly empty SkyHub Lounge and had a very late dinner.
Terminal 2 has two SkyHub Lounges — east and west. At the time of my visit, one was undergoing renovation, so I used the western SkyHub.
For a detailed review of the Incheon T2 SkyHub Lounge, check the link below :D
Incheon Airport Terminal 2 SkyHub West Lounge Review (24-Hour)
Boarding
I managed to get nearly five hours of sleep in a lounge massage chair.
A staff member politely woke me up to free the chair for the next guest — which was honestly a good thing, since it meant I didn’t oversleep.
I gathered my things and made my way to the gate.
Today’s gate was Gate 242 — the same gate I used on my very first solo international trip, coincidentally.
Boarding began in zone order.
That walk to the gate never gets old.
The A359’s distinctive “raccoon” cockpit windows are instantly recognizable — it’s one of my favorite-looking aircraft right now.
KE787 A350-900 Cabin
Walking in through the economy boarding door, the first thing you see is the extra legroom section.
These are the former Asiana “Smartium” economy seats — Korean Air simply re-upholstered them and sells them as extra legroom seats at an added charge.
The economy cabin on this A359 (former Asiana) is configured in a 3-3-3 layout.
The aircraft I flew had registration HL8598, delivered in December 2024 — a brand new airframe.
Fukuoka is such a popular route that the flight was completely full.
The seat covers and safety cards were swapped out for Korean Air branding, but the IFE system is still the original Asiana hardware.
After pushback, the aircraft taxied quickly and took off.
Korean Air has been aggressively repainting its fleet in the new livery lately, so spotting the old scheme is getting rare.
Cabin & Wi-Fi
The flight from Seoul to Fukuoka takes about 1 hour 20 minutes.
This aircraft is one of the few in the Korean Air fleet with Wi-Fi available.
The IFE interface is clean and modern with a decent content library.
There’s a good variety of movies, but with only an hour in the air, there’s no time to actually watch one. I just left the airshow running.
Wi-Fi is available for purchase: messaging at US$4.95, full internet at US$5.95.
For a flight under 90 minutes, I skipped it.
Meal
I had pre-ordered a Hindu meal (HNML) for this flight.
The meal consisted of a sandwich, coffee, water, and cheese — simple but fine.
It arrived before the regular meal service, though the regular offering was also a sandwich, so there wasn’t much of a difference.
More notably, it had been a long time since I’d received a proper in-flight meal on a Japan route.
Landing – Fukuoka Airport
After slowly finishing the sandwich and disposing of the packaging, the aircraft began its approach into Fukuoka.
Fukuoka Airport recently opened a second runway after a major reconstruction, and the new international terminal interior has been completely revamped — it has a noticeably upscale feel.
Despite being a relatively compact airport, it handles flights from United, Singapore Airlines, Thai Airways, and many other international carriers.
Its proximity to the city center makes it one of my favorite airports.
To mark the 60th anniversary of Japan–Korea diplomatic relations, the airport had put up a full welcome banner in Korean.
“Enjoy your trip and please come back to Fukuoka (Tto-kuoka)!” — cute wordplay 😄
I caught a shot of the A350-900 from the terminal window after disembarking.
It really is a beautiful aircraft.
That wraps up my Korean Air KE787 Incheon–Fukuoka flight review.
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