Originally Posted by coupletraveltheworld

For what it's worth - the answer to my question above is an emphatic 'No - Korean Air will not open up revenue seats for award tickets, even if there is only 6 hours to go, even if the same daily flight(s) have not sold out for the past month, even if the plane is not full'.

KE's 'general rule' about award seats cited above means - if you go to the airport when check-in opens the Ticketing Manager may apply that policy (i.e. assign an otherwise empty seat to an award seat). The KE call centre, however, can do nothing more than waitlist you for a cancelled award fare only. So, unless you are hanging about the airport Amazing Race style or have absolutely no other options - I would not recommend placing any faith in KE opening up award seats last minute.

Whilst I understand KEs policy is probably standard among airlines, I don't feel it's necessarily the most common sense approach. Nor do I think that it's a satisfactory response to hide behind a policy. UA recently dramatically showed why policies fail. Common sense and middle-management with power is needed.

Airlines aren't the most lucrative businesses and I understand why an airline may want to leave seats available to extract large last minute fares from corporate/desperate clients. That said, when planes are not flying out full - is there a benefit to KE to not accommodate the request? Perhaps most others would pay $1300 for a o/w revenue.

As it is, we are catching a last minute 13 hour bus from NYC - Toronto to fly to the same destination I could have reached from JFK, spending the same miles and taxes, whilst both flights from JFK that day left at less than full capacity.