B (1)

Jin Air B777-200 Jini Plus Hong Kong–Seoul

CHECK-INAs there is no in-town check-in for Jin

Air, the LCC subsidiary of Korean Air, I arrived at the

airport at 1100 for flight LJ114, scheduled for departure

at 1320. Six check-in counters were open in aisle D, so

the long queue moved quite quickly. I was expecting a

priority check-in counter for Jini Plus customers, but

there did not appear to be one... until I was almost at

the front of the queue, when the signage was suddenly

put up. I was checked in efficiently but told the flight

was delayed by around half an hour.

BOARDINGThere is no lounge access with this ticket;

our departure gate – 206 – is part of HKIA’s pleasant

new Midfield Concourse requiring a slightly longer

shuttle train ride. Boarding began at 1350 and I went

through the Jini Plus priority channel at 1400. Entering

the front cabin of the aircraft I was astonished to see it

empty, and no one else boarded before the plane left

the gate at 1408.

THE SEATI was in seat 1A – unsurprisingly. The

Jini Plus seats are configured in the same fashion as

economy – 3-4-3 – except for the bulkhead front row,

which is 2-4-2. There are 48 Jini Plus seats, but they

are identical to the normal economy seats and are

differentiated only by an extra 15cm of legroom. This

gives them premium economy levels of seat pitch.

(Also part of the Jini Plus package is priority baggage

handling and an amenity kit containing the usual

toothbrush, eye mask, etc.)

The seat itself was comfortable, curved with side

bolsters that made it feel a little like a sports car seat

hugging you in position. The recline was limited, but for

short-haul flights this is not really an issue. There is no

IFE – this is, after all, an LCC. However, you can pay for

the Jini Play service – which offers a small but adequate

selection of films, TV shows and games – on your own

device (US$10), or pay an extra US$10 for a high-quality

Samsung tablet. A charging point is below the seat, but

there is only one per two or three seats in each row.

WHICH SEAT TO CHOOSEThere are three rows of

economy seats behind the Jini Plus seating, with the

lavatories and galley behind them, so the bulkhead row

where I was sitting, or one of the other forward rows,

would probably be best.

THE FLIGHTIt was strange to be the only person in

the cabin – I asked my flight attendant and she said

it is normally busy, but less so midweek, and this was

pure chance. The plane took off at 1425 and the captain

announced that we would make up some time and

arrive in Seoul at 1820, 25 minutes late.

Soon after take-off I was given the Jini Play tablet with

a charger, then served a cup of water and a snack bag

containing a banana, a muffin and a refreshment towel.

I worked on my laptop – the armrest table was stable

enough – and then watched a movie until we began our

descent (though the screen was crystal clear, the earphones

provided tinny sound quality – use your own headset).

ARRIVALWe began our descent at 1745, touched

down at 1810 and were at the gate at 1825, 30 minutes

late. Another half-hour took me to – and through

• immigration (there was quite a queue for foreign
  passport holders), where a choice of cab, bus or train
  gets you to central Seoul in roughly 60-90 minutes.
  Jeremy Tredinnick

VERDICTFor a no-frills

low-cost carrier, this was

one of my best experiences

• though I was lucky that the
  flight was so empty. If, like me,
  the extra legroom makes a
  substantial difference to your
  in-flight comfort, then this is
  well worth considering as an
  alternative to economy seating
  on a major carrier.

DEPARTURE TIME

1320

JOURNEY TIME

3 hours 35 minutes

CONFIGURATION

3-4-3

SEAT PITCH

37in/94cm

SEAT WIDTH

18.5in/47cm

SEAT RECLINE

4in/10cm

PRICE

Internet rates for a midweek

Jini Plus return flight from

Hong Kong to Seoul in July

start from US$377 including

taxes and surcharges.

CONTACT

jinair.com

JINI PLUS

ECONOMY

Tried & TestedFlightI 21

businesstraveller.asia JUNE 2016