Korean Air debuts exciting new business-class product with doors
Korean Air is launching a new business-class product — and it’s debuting in just a few days.
The Seoul-based airline shared details of what it’s calling the Prestige Suites 2.0 in a website update first reported by Executive Traveller.
Korean’s new product is arranged in a 1-2-1 configuration with direct aisle access for every passenger. Though the carrier didn’t officially share the seat manufacturer, the new product seems to resemble seats made by Collins Aerospace and Safran — two of the biggest makers of business-class seats.
Perhaps the biggest news about the seats is that they’ll all feature sliding privacy doors that measure 52 inches high. These doors should definitely help provide travelers with a better sense of personal space.
Additionally, the center seats can be converted into a “honeymoon” arrangement when the privacy divider between these seats is lowered.
Other bells and whistles include Qi wireless charging pads, 60-watt USB-C fast-charging outlets and 24-inch TV screens.
This next-generation Prestige Suite will debut on Korean’s Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner, the first of which is expected to be inaugurated later this month. Korean has 20 Boeing 787-10 Dreamliners on order, and each jet will feature a 36-seat business-class cabin.
The new product is also expected to be retrofitted onto the existing Boeing 777-300ER fleet, though no timeline was provided for this cabin overhaul project.
Korean currently plans to inaugurate the Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner featuring the new Prestige Suites on Tuesday, on a flight from Seoul to Tokyo.
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In addition to the new business-class seats, Korean’s 787-10s will be the first to feature Wi-Fi connectivity. No further details were shared about the carrier’s internet packages, but we’ll update this story if we hear back from a carrier representative.
Korean’s primary existing business-class product, the Apex Suite, already offers a top-notch experience, so it remains to be seen how travelers like this new seat.
While the window seats in the Apex configuration offer plenty of personal space and privacy, frequent flyers sometimes complain that these seats are too narrow.
The good news is that the new Prestige Suites 2.0 will offer 46 inches of pitch and measure 21 inches wide. The lie-flat beds will measure up to 79 inches, so hopefully, this will allay some of the concerns with the existing product.
Plus, it remains to be seen if Korean will adopt this new product as its new standard after the merger with Asiana Airlines, a process that’s expected to be fully approved later this year.
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