Review: Aero K Airbus A320 – Jeju to Cheongju

This is review details my experience on an Aero K Airbus A320 in July 2024. You can read my much more detailed full trip report of this flight by clicking here.

About the Airline

Expectations

Pre-Flight Experience

Despite booking thousands of miles away in the UK, I encountered no issues whatsoever when booking via Aero K’s website. This was modern, sleek and easy to navigate, and no long waits were required upon searching for flights. Meanwhile, unlike some low-cost airlines (ahem…Ryanair), I was not required to side-step around too many paid-for extras, with these limited to hold luggage and pre-reserved seats. Price-wise, these weren’t particularly expensive and seemed to be in line with the price of extras on Korea’s other low-cost carriers. After entering my details, I made a quick and easy payment before receiving my e-ticket almost instantly. On a side note, as seems to be the case with all Korean carriers bar Korean Air, passengers cannot use American Express cards to pay on Aero K’s website.

Whilst Aero K’s website advises passengers that online check-in opens 24 hours before departure, unfortunately, I found this not to work and I was thus left with no option other than to check-in at the terminal in Jeju.

Costs

Airport Experience

Of all the Korean carriers that serve Jeju, Aero K has the smallest operation, operating three flights between Cheongju and Jeju each day. Thus, unsurprisingly, I found Aero K to occupy a much smaller check-in area than other airlines, with three desks offered. Nevertheless, these are well-branded and easy to find, and that day I was delighted to walk straight up to one of these without queuing. In Jeju, Aero K outsources both its front and back-of-house handling services to ATS Airport Service, and once I reached the check-in desk, I found the two agents staffing this to be a little cold. Furthermore, they seemed to be rather puzzled by my booking, and it took a few minutes for me to receive my receipt-style boarding pass in what seemed to have been an overcomplicated process. I should also note that Aero K’s system is loaded into the terminal’s self-check-in machines, however unfortunately, like the website, these would not allow me to check in.

That morning, boarding was undertaken by an old and battered bus, and this was a fairly efficient and quick process. Meanwhile, unlike at check-in, I found the gate staff to be slightly more friendly.

Seat and Cabin

Of Aero K’s five aircraft, three feature a unique cabin with smart blue pleather-covered Acro seats, aligning with the airline’s brand identity. However, sadly, that morning I ended up on one of Aero K’s two recent arrivals from Vueling, which still sports the interiors of the Spanish low-cost carrier. Specifically, these featured grey pleather-covered Recaro SL3510 seats, topped with a fabric antimacassar on which Aero K’s motif could be seen.

Unfortunately, I found the seat to be rather uncomfortable, with this being as firm as an ironing board and very cramped. Whilst this was just about tolerable given the short length of the flight, I wouldn’t have wanted to end up onboard that aircraft on one of Aero K’s long slogs to Southeast Asia! Returning to the positives, despite the aircraft’s age, I found the seat and the area around this to be in good condition, with nothing more than a few minor signs of wear and tear. Furthermore, this was clean, with no signs of rubbish or crumbs from previous passengers.

With this being a very short domestic hop on a low-cost carrier, I had not expected any amenities and was thus not disappointed at the lack of these. I should note that those wanting to stay warm on Aero K’s international services can purchase an Aero K branded blanket for 15,000 won (£8.57).

Lavatories

Before taking off, I made a quick pre-departure lavatory visit and found this to be in a clean state, stocked with the basics and only with relatively minimal signs of wear and tear. Serving its purpose, this lavatory visit left me with no complaints.

Inflight Entertainment

Unfortunately, entertainment was for the most part non-existent, with no inflight entertainment system, inflight magazine or wifi provided onboard. There was however an interesting guide to Tokyo, produced in collaboration with Cava Life, although this was published in Korean only.

Catering

As soon as the crew were released from their seats, a buy-on-board service was undertaken however I failed to spot any passengers making a purchase. Looking at the menu, this seemed to feature a similar array of light snacks, sweets, hot and cold, and hard and soft beverages. All of these seemed to be priced in line with other Korean low-cost carriers, neither being notably cheaper nor more expensive. Whilst not available on their domestic route between Cheongju and Jeju, those on Aero K’s international services can pre-order one of two hot meals – mandu gratin or tomato pasta, with these costing 10,000 won (£5.69) and including a bottle of water.

Crew

As soon as I stepped onboard, I received a warm and friendly welcome from two crew members dressed in Aero K’s stylish and casual designer uniform. Highlighting Aero K’s positively open approach to grooming, one crew member sported a smart beard, which was the first time I had seen any sort of cabin crew facial hair when flying on a Korean carrier! Throughout the flight, I was incredibly impressed by the cabin crew, who seemed to be incredibly warm, polite and friendly, and appeared to be genuinely happy to be at work!

Summary

Ignoring the fact that I couldn’t check in online, or the firm and cramped seat, I was left very impressed by Aero K. In particular, I found the airline’s crew to be warm, friendly and incredibly welcoming, something that served to redeem my Aero K experience. With that considered, I would be happy to fly with the airline again, however, next time I would hope to end up onboard one of their less cramped jets!