ON THE GROUND: With all the options available to travelers making their way to South Korea, there are certainly a slew of great carriers. I was lucky to make the best of my business trip to South Korea and experience the wonderful premium-economy service aboard Air Premia. Long-haul trips are always better with a little extra room, attention and amenities throughout the trip.

PRE-FLIGHT: As is customary, premium air classes include priority boarding, giving you more time to get settled. Once you have made yourself comfortable before the rest of the flight, the attendants bring you a welcome refreshment. You will receive plenty of personalized service; flight attendants introduce themselves and make themselves available for any needs.

IN-FLIGHT: The recliner seats in premium economy aboard the Boeing 787-9 are quite comfortable and roomy and include foot support. I noticed the window seats have a cooling film to reduce the UV exposure. The seats provide lots of compartments to help you keep your electronics in arm’s reach; I kept my iPad and cellular devices in the pocket on my right. You’ll find chargers with USB ports at your feet between the seats for ease of access.

The entertainment console featured lots of great Korean content and proved easy to navigate with the remote on the left side of the seat.

After everyone boarded, we received toiletries, a super- soft blanket and pillow, and slippers (which I threw on as soon as I got settled). The toiletries — South Korea’s delightful Huxley brand — included a face spray to keep your face fresh, hand lotion and a rich lip balm I really enjoyed using.

Onboard dining was great and included two meals during the flight. It honestly felt like we were overfed, but at least no one arrived hungry. On the first leg of the trip I enjoyed a first meal of chicken porridge with grapefruit juice (another option was cheese frittata with a lovely veggie side), and for the second meal, slow-cooked beef with veggies and rice, with a little cake and a red bean salad. For the second leg of the trip, the first meal offered chicken bibimbap and beef bulgogi — wow! The second meal was frittata, which tasted so fresh.

TOP TAKEAWAYS:

• Recliner seats proved a bit of a challenge for me; I think they would be for anyone over 5 feet, 7 inches. The footrest was not comfortable.
• The attendants provided lots of hydration service through the flight.
• Don’t shy away from the Korean content in the entertainment; you’re bound to find something that will really speak to you.

AIR PREMIA                                                                                                                                                     airpremia.com