SkyTeam - Travel to Beijing (PEK)

I'm going to start travel from Jacksonville FL (JAX) to Beijing China (PEK) this year. I'm diamond on delta and prefer to keep all travel with the SkyTeam Alliance. Also, it looks like all the travel will have to be coach. Can someone help me with the strategy?

1) Upgradable Coach Fares are OK - How do I upgrade to business class?
2) Transfer airports available are Atlanta, NY (JFK), Detroit, and Minneapolis.
3) Airline options are Korean Air (ATL & JFK), or Delta (ATL, MSP, DTW).
4) Prefer two segments and minimal trip duration.
5) Strong preference for nice plane (addicted to A380, but a newly renovated plane would do)

This seems to be cross posted. I already wrote a somewhat long and detailed answer in the DL forum.

Thanks for the great explanation on the other post. It's looking like the 777 is the way to go. Thanks for making sense of it all!