Upgrading KLM flights using CO miles
 

Hi folks, tried searching for this one but with no joy. Is this still possible? I know it used to be but have no idea if it still is, and can't find any reference to it online or on FT.

If so, who should I contact - KLM or CO? The flights I am looking at are intra-European so not a great business class product, but I have a stack of CO miles to burn off. I am CO Plat.

Yes, it is still possible, but you must be traveling in one of the two highest KL coach fare buckets (Y and S, I believe) to be eligible. Also, you must call CO to process the upgrade.

Upgrades are totally not worthwhile for KL intra-European J; save your miles for something better.

CO1E is right about intra-european flights. J is simply a coach seat, with the middle seat blocked and if it has meal, it is better than Y but not by much.

Burn you miles of the Qantas F reward to SYD its just doubled but still a very solid product.

For more than 3 years I was flying to the middle east regularly via AMS. I connected to KLM on either CO or NW. I had no trouble with a mileage upgrade on the USA to AMS portion, but was never able to get one on the KLM segment.

I know how rubbish the intra-European product is, actually it probably isn't worth the hassle, and looking our our booking, we are in Q/N classes, so I am guessing it probably isn't possible anyway.

I only have 120,000 CO miles, so not a lot, but I'm just finding it a nightmare to find any way to use them - never seems to be any (business class) award availability and the CO search engine is a bit limited / cumbersome in terms of displaying Skyteam options. I suppose I might as well just hang on and I'll probably find a use for them at some point.

KL is not even good about blocking the middle, unlike AF, which has an actual partition in the middle seat. I have flown KL intra-European J with a passenger next to me in the middle seat on several flights.

KL, unlike AF, definitely does not block the middle seat in Europe Select (as their intra-Europe J is known). Many in the KL forum (myself included) think the food in ES is actually worse than in economy. See this thread for some examples of what the ES Mys(t)ery Food Box contains.

Thanks for the tread link. found it amusing. I have never flown KL-ES only AF-J and AZ-J so i had just assumed (thats were I went wrong :) ) they blocked the middle seats. So with worse food and a seat mate in J, I think that seals the deal.

Yes- the exit row seats in KL intra-European coach actually are much more comfortable than the Europe Select seats.

Not even that.

But... the 737s (and even F70/100s) are subject to last-minute substitution with other models.

True, but KL intra-European coach passengers cannot get seat assignments until check in anyway, correct? Not that that does not prevent very last-minute equipment swaps, but it does to some degree mitigate being screwed out of an exit row seat.

That is because Europe Select doesn't claim to block the middle seat. It isn't a case of them not being good about it, it is that they don't do it.

This is correct. No seat assignments until check-in.

My 2 cents is that KL Europe Select is an absolute joke. I would never waste the miles on the upgrade. And, more importantly, I would never waste the extra money to buy into the proper fare class. Even lounge access isn't that much of a sell, as Schiphol is such a nice place that the lounge is almost superfluous.

All that being said, I actually don't think KL European Y is that bad, so being in the back isn't that big of a chore. Indeed, the sandwich is usually better than the stuff they serve up front.

The only caution is that getting those is hard, and made more difficult by the fact that CO looks for KLM availability on a point-to-point basis, while KLM itself allocates inventory using trip logic. For example, if flying EWR-AMS-DXB, a CO agent must see upgrade inventory on separate EWR-AMS and AMS-DXB flights, and will be unable to upgrade you if it's not there even though there could be numerous upgrade seats to be sold on EWR-AMS-DXB as a through trip.

Perhaps they do not block them, per se, but I believe that (in theory) KL fills the middle seats in Europe Select last.