Returning home to New York City from Seoul recently meant a 14-hour nonstop flight in economy class aboard Korean Air’s Boeing 777-300ER.
On first blush, the experience might sound grueling. But as far as I’m concerned, Korean Air deserves kudos for selecting a PaxEx-friendly 3-3-3 layout in economy class rather than the cramped 3-4-3 configuration that one commonly finds on many other 777 operators.
Getting situated in my aisle seat in the front section of economy, I found that Korean Air’s 777-300ER economy class seat was even roomier than the economy seat aboard the Boeing 787 that I had taken to Seoul. While the carrier’s excellent 33-34″ pitch is identical across both aircraft types, Korean Air is able to offer an extra inch of seat width on the 777-300ER due to its choice of a 9-abreast layout.
That gave me a spacious 18 inches of width which, when coupled with the ample legroom, meant that this was the roomiest regular economy seat I have experienced in a long time. 
The seatback onboard the 777 featured an IFE remote control, a USB socket and a headphone jack. A cup holder, which can operate independent of the tray table, was quite useful on such a long flight.
My seat was in good working order and I did not experience any glitches with the IFE, as I had on the 787 flight to Seoul. The seat shape and padding were otherwise consistent with my previous flight.
Also consistent, unfortunately, was the content choice (or lack thereof) on the IFE system. Again, the selection did not compare favorably with other airlines such as Korean Air’s joint-venture partner, Delta. The absence of Wi-Fi on Korean Air’s aircraft only accentuated the issue, which remains the biggest weakness of the carrier’s onboard experience (its new Boeing 737 MAX aircraft are fitted with connectivity.)
Service on this 14-hour flight was particularly good. With a favorable ratio of crew and galley space to economy class seats, the crew were quick to respond….
