The best business class seats on Korean Air's Boeing 747-8

Korean Air’s Boeing 747-8s will grace Australia’s skies from later this year when the airline brings the modern jumbo onto its daily Sydney-Seoul flights.

With business class spread across both decks, some travellers will gravitate towards the seats downstairs, while others will take the chance to fly high in a smaller cabin – whatever your preferences, Australian Business Traveller highlights the best business class seats on board.

Korean Air Boeing 747-8 business class: the basics

Korean Air splits 48 business class seats across both the upper deck and main deck of its Boeing 747-8s, with 22 seats upstairs and the remaining 26 seats below:

On both decks, the window seats are labelled ‘A’ and ‘J’, with ‘B’, ‘D’, ‘E’ and ‘H’ all aisle seats. Rows 7-11 can be found on the main deck, and rows 16-21 above.

Korean Air Boeing 747-8 business class: best seats

For sleeping and privacy – the window seats: Although the cabin comes in a 2-2-2 layout (2-2 upstairs), passengers in the window seats still enjoy direct access to the aisle via a small pathway at each row.

There’s also a privacy wall that can be raised in between each pair of seats during the flight, which means these travellers won’t seen from the aisles when that wall is raised, have complete control of the window shades nearby, and can’t be bumped or disturbed when they’re sleeping.

For couples or friends – a D+E pair: Couples, friends or colleagues travelling together may prefer to select seats in the middle (D+E) pairs on the main deck, because these seats are positioned directly next to each other whereas the seats elsewhere are offset, making conversation more difficult.

But be aware that these centre pairs have up to 11 inches less bed space than the seats by the windows and on the upper deck, so if there's a taller traveller involved, choose a pair elsewhere.

For extra storage – an A or J seat upstairs: Travelling with lots of kit? Then aim for a window seat on the upper deck to make use of the Boeing 747’s added side storage bins, which double to provide additional shelf space throughout the flight when the storage lid is closed.

For solo travellers: While many business class cabins have seats which are better-suited to solo flyers than others, that’s not the case here with every seat offering direct aisle access, although seats on the upper deck may prove a quieter choice with fewer surrounding passengers than downstairs.

Seats to reconsider: If other choices are available, consider avoiding 10A/B, 10H/J and 11D/E on the main deck, and 16A/B, 16H/J and 21H/J on the upper deck.

These seats are all located near galleys, lavatories or both, as are all of the seats in row seven.

Again, taller travellers should also avoid a 'D' or 'E' seat on the main deck, due to the reduced legroom and bed length here compared to the other seats (75 inches of total pitch versus 86 inches elsewhere).

Chris C.

Chris is a a former contributor to Executive Traveller.