My First Korean Air International Economy Flight Experience (SEL-JFK) in 1997

It's been 27 years, so there are no photos, only boarding records remain. I'm sharing my flight experience that led me to become an aviation enthusiast. I'm relying heavily on my memory, so there might be some inaccuracies.

There might be a lot of scrolling, so the summary is at the very bottom in the last five lines.

Fortunately, my boarding record for the trip to New York with my grandparents from Busan is well preserved on the Korean Air website.

When I was in middle school.

Even though I had already experienced international flights with Northwest Airlines (Gimpo-Honolulu) and Asiana Airlines (Gimpo-Bangkok), as well as domestic flights with Korean Air (Gimpo-Jeju) when I was in elementary school, my dream of boarding a Korean Air international flight took a few more years to come true, which finally happened in 1997.

It was a long journey to visit my maternal aunt and uncle who live in New York (they still live in New York), taking my paternal grandparents (both have since passed away) who lived in Busan at the time.

Four days before our trip, news broke that a Korean Air jumbo jet had crashed in Guam.

• Reference: Korean Air Flight 801 Guam Crash (August 6, 1997)

As a child, I was worried and asked my mom, "Mom, the plane we're taking is also a 747, is it okay?" My mom, who graduated from the mathematics education department, said, "What are the chances of a jumbo jet from the same airline crashing in a few days? It's close to zero, and even if something like that happens, it's destiny, so don't worry and trust probability and statistics." (My current way of thinking is greatly influenced by this, and I place a lot of emphasis on numerical probability and statistics.)

Finally, at Gimpo International Airport, I boarded Korean Air Flight 083, SEL-JFK. It was a brand-new plane, and since the Seoul-New York outbound flight was non-stop, I believe it was a B747-400. I vividly remember that the return flight was JFK-ANC-SEL, with a brief stopover in Anchorage.

Amenities included disposable slippers, toothbrush and toothpaste, and even in economy class, a hard-copy menu was provided, printed on a gift card-like thick paper. Does anyone remember when Korean Air stopped providing economy class meal menus?

The first meal was bibimbap, and I thought, "What kind of in-flight meal is this?" It was so delicious. However, from the research I've done, it seems that Korean Air started serving bibimbap in the summer of 1997. So, I happened to have a brand new in-flight meal right after its introduction. Later, it won the Mercury Award for in-flight meals, and currently, numerous foreign airlines operating out of Incheon also cater bibimbap. Korean food has become more popular in the 2020s, but I have a vivid memory of being part of its initial stages.

In-flight screens were installed in the current bulk seat area, and they showed news, sports highlights, and movies.

They also gave out air-powered headphones with various channel selection options on the armrest, including in-flight screen, classical music, latest music, pop songs, etc. I don't remember which movie was playing, but I do recall watching the 1997 PGA US Open highlights and the 9 pm KBS news from the previous day.

For the second meal, I chose Western food. Even in economy class, instead of the plastic packaging used today, the main course was served on a ceramic dish, covered with tin foil. Even today, in 2024, metal cutlery is served on long-haul flights, so naturally, spoons and forks were also served in metal at that time.

Honey-roasted peanuts came in a sky blue package with Korean Air printed on it, and they were truly delicious. Later, they switched to red Fisher honey-roasted peanuts, and now they're a thing of the past. Currently, in 2024, Summer Harvest pretzels are served instead.

Although it was economy class, the seat pitch was spacious (as a middle school student back then, I was not an adult yet, so it felt even more spacious), and they provided plenty of food and entertainment, making the flight incredibly enjoyable. Even after 27 years, many scenes remain vividly in my mind.

<Summary of Differences Compared to Current Economy Class>

1. In-flight meal menu provided

2. No AVOD, entertainment provided on in-flight screens

3. Honey-roasted peanuts in sky blue packaging provided

4. Main course of in-flight meals served on ceramic dish (not like bird food, generous portions)

5. Eastbound US flights had a technical landing at ANC