Originally Posted by
JapanFlyerT
At first I planned on China Eastern as the flight times are shorter, but the OTA couldn't actually book the flights.
Then they found flights on China Southern from KIX to LAX at Christmas time that were too cheap to ignore, just $650 roundtrip (half what United was asking), so booked 3 seats.
Now I am looking for a way to upgrade mine (my son and girlfriend can survive in economy). I see references for various airlines to using miles, auctions, paying at gate, and paying on board. I have never done any of these, so I am not sure which route to go. I have a lot of Korean Air Skypass points, but I am guessing my cheap flights will preclude me from using Skyteam miles to upgrade.
I have seen references to paying $150, and others $1,000. That is a pretty wide range, and it would be good to know what is typical.
CZ don’t have auctions. You can ask at check-in, but it will be very expensive. If there is space available, upgrading on board is possible and will be cheaper than at check-in..,expect to pay in the vincinity of USD800-1000 (I presume you are only interested in the CAN-LAX leg). Cheap flight purchase won’t impact on on-board upgrade. They say you won’t get Bus meals, just seat...,but if you make nice, you might be lucky. You can certainly upgrade using miles....if you’ve purchased a ticket in the lowest economy bucket, you can still upgrade....but expect it to be well in excess of 120,000km (CZ operate on km not miles). The upgrade to Bus on CAN-LAX will either be 777 or A380...both are very good in Bus. Good luck.