Around the world part 3: Madrid to Seoul

After an overnight stay in Guadalajara, Spain (which is near Madrid), it was time to head back to the airport.  I had arrived in Spain at around 6 pm and then my flight to Seoul departed at 9 pm, so I was in Spain for just over 24 hours.  I enjoyed my time at the AC Hotel in Guadalajara and enjoyed checking out a smaller town where they actually appreciated when I spoke Spanish. 

My flight to Seoul that evening would be my first time flying Korean Airlines and would also set a new record for my longest flight at 6 200 miles over the course of about 12 hours.  Now, I love Korea and Korean culture and had been to Korea three times previously.  On the ground, Korean hospitality and food is excellent.  In addition, I’ve seen and read any number of reviews raving about the Apex Suite, which is the business class hard product that the airline uses.  However, I had read extensively that Korean Airlines has a very set, almost assembly line service flow.  The service is also very reactionary, rather than proactive.  Therefore, I was cautiously optimistic about this flight going in because I knew what to expect and where to manage my expectations.

Flying from Madrid to Seoul is not the most popular route, but Korean Airlines does offer it a few times a week, presumably specifically for Koreans to visit Spain because I don’t believe they partner with any local airlines. My flight left from terminal 1. Since I was flying Prestige (Business) Class, I had access to the Cibeles Sala VIP lounge, which I also could’ve accessed with Priority Pass. My understanding is that this is the only lounge available in the terminal, so I’d imagine it’s always decently busy.

It’s laid out as one giant room:

A buffet area surrounded the wooden floor area. The main food selection was pre-portioned bowls and plates that had both hot and cold options.

The fare was standard and didn’t really lean into Spanish cuisine substantially, offering more generically Mediterranean and European food options.

Along the edges were the more basic food and drink options:

I decided to serve myself a selection of the dishes so that I could get a good sampling for the blog:

Nothing really stood out. The pasta was boring, the soup was fine, and the fish dish was similarly fine. I then went back to try some other options, including the carrots and fruit/dessert options. Similarly they were just fine.

The outdoor area is where this lounge really shines:

But it’s also the smoking area, so your mileage may vary there.

Since the lounge was not very interesting, I decided to board the plane as early as possible.

Korean Airlines’ Apex Suites product are considered some of the best seats among AvGeeks because of the direct aisle access and shoulder space they offer, as well as the privacy in the window seats.

However, I find them inefficient and that they have a lot of wasted space.  For example, the only shelf available is located far away from where I was actually sitting. 

The walls didn’t really do a lot for privacy for me because I could still see over the walls and it was a bit odd sitting slightly ahead of the aisle seat person. 

Further, all the extra personal space I had was at my feet or around a corner from me; very little of it could I actually use. 

I’d actually compare this product more closely to the old British Airways Club World ‘yin-yang’ seat than a top business class product.  However, I will admit that I’ve predominately been flying the yin-yang seat on the A380, which is the best variation of the BA seat. Late in 2025, I’m likely to fly in the old Club World seat on the 787 again and will report back.

However, there is an additional piece to note.  I had originally booked seat 6A, which is the first row of Business Class.  However, these 787 aircraft actually have an additional row of the same seats that are slightly longer and have larger screens in row 1.  The seats in row 1 used to be sold as First Class, but the Madrid route doesn’t offer First Class, and I don’t think these seats are even currently sold as such on other routes.  On the one hand, it was nice to experience the best Apex Suite on the plane, but it just seemed inefficient and had a lot of wasted space in my opinion.  It wasn’t like other first class seats where the extra space felt “owned” by me, rather just wasted.

After an efficient boarding process and a quick take off, we were ready to begin the meal service.

Meal service began with a small amuse-bouche consisting of shrimp and cream cheese and a water. I’ve learned that the Cho family (who owns/runs Korean Airlines) doesn’t drink and so doesn’t like to serve much alcohol on the flight. However, that doesn’t fully explain why the non-alcoholic drinks are also served so sparsely.

Next came the appetizer, which consisted of jamón ibérico and a cream cheese-stuffed pepper. It’s a more Spanish-style dish than I was expecting on Korean Airlines but at least makes sense on a flight from Spain. I waited to get a picture with both dishes before eating. I really enjoyed both dishes, but really wasn’t expecting to be served cream cheese twice, haha.

On the menu, it said there was a soup course of cauliflower cream soup. I don’t remember being given the option of having it or having any soup, and I also don’t have a picture of the soup, so I guess it wasn’t served on this flight. I don’t know if that has to do with me having ordered the Korean main dish, but here we are.

I also always find it interesting that Korean Airlines (and many Korean restaurants) will ask you if you know how to eat bibimbap when they serve it to you, haha.

Next came the cheese plate, which was also very European in style. Going into this flight, I had expected that the food would be more like on other Asian carriers where they give you the choice of an Eastern or Western dining experience, but here we are.

After the cheese course came dessert, which was just a small ice cream, similar to what Alaska Airlines serves in its domestic first class. I also ordered a hot chocolate to be more interesting.

After dinner, it was time to sleep. I reclined the bed, and actually it does offer very good privacy in bed mode.

According to the timestamps on the pictures, it was nearly nine hours between the end of meal service and the start of the breakfast service. And I slept for around eight of those hours, which is amazing. I actually think I should’ve slept a bit less because I didn’t really consider how late in the day this flight would arrive.

Breakfast was served in two courses. The first part was congee (which I was not asked if I knew how to eat).

Followed by fruit. There was nothing wrong with the breakfast, but nothing really stood out. That’s pretty common on airplanes.

The weird thing though about being served breakfast (which does make sense after you’ve slept) is that the flight was scheduled to arrive at 6:15 pm local time in Seoul. That’s a pretty late time to be having breakfast. Also as a result of sleeping on long on the plane, my first night in Korea could be described more as a 4-hour nap. But that meant I got a bright and early start to my first full day the next day!

In summary, my first Korean Airlines flight will not be my last, but I won’t actively seek them out.  The lounge in Madrid was totally fine but very busy; I would’ve spent more time outside if it wasn’t the smoking section (3/5).  The Apex Suite just wasn’t my vibe, but I did sleep very well (3/5).  The service on the flight was as expected, given the context and my desire to sleep (4/5).  I was a fan of the food but really wish there had been more choice or cuisine consistency (3/5).  The IFE was also just fine (3/5).  Overall, this flight gets a 16/25, which is basically the definition of “fine” on this blog. 

I booked this flight using Delta SkyMiles.  Somewhat shockingly, I actually got great value from the miles.  This flight cost 80 000 miles and $30 for 12 hours in Business.  The equivalent flight would’ve cost over 300 000 miles if it touched the US.  I had originally booked a connecting flight on KLM, so swapping to the direct flight was great luck and cost the same number of miles.  If I’d been able to book the onward connecting flight to Tokyo on the same ticket, that second flight would’ve been free, but I wasn’t able to book the ticket as a “stopover” in Seoul.