Dangit, I flew yesterday and didn't take the copy of Sky that was mine to take with me!
Frankly, I'm going to call shenanigans on this - I think the OP misread or misunderstood something.
Are there elite upgrades on all SkyTeam airlines? Of course! Just buy a ticket in certain fare classes, then burn some miles.
Are there likely to be paid day-of-departure upgrades on all SkyTeam airlines? Of course not. SkyTeam members' policies are way too divergent for that. Try asking at KLM. You'll be told (as I've been) that you can just buy a business class ticket, if you're so intent on getting into the front cabin!
Are there likely to be complimentary upgrades on all SkyTeam airlines? Even more implausible. Northwest and Continental are the only two I'm aware of that can even manage that across 2 companies.
As it now stands, as a Northwest platinum-and-then-some, I can't upgrade from cheap Northwest fares internationally. And I can't upgrade from cheap fares on
Delta and at least some other partners, even domestically. And I don't see that magically changing, unless Northwest and/or Continental (who have some automation and cooperation already) buy all the other members of SkyTeam (who don't).
