Korean Air Upgrade Policy
Aug 15, 2019, 5:55 am
#16
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Switzerland; South Korea
Posts: 346
Speaking of Expert Flyer, I've actually seen just once - when I flew DPS-ICN in April - I checked the map as I was arriving at the airport - and they actually showed the last row of biz class as economy and open....so I'm guessing they thought they needed it....but alas, no upgrade and I did see any empty seat.
Definitely something they do when a certain class is overbooked, and the higher class is either empty or under-booked.
Aug 15, 2019, 1:00 pm
#17
Join Date: Jul 2018
Location: Richmond, CA
Programs: Delta PM; Marriott Plat; Hilton Gold; Hertz Pres
Posts: 72
I'm flying KE metal, SFO-ICN-MNL as a Skyteam Elite+(DL PM) on an N fare on 1Sept2019. Is there a decent chance of an upgrade or not at all? Is there anything that I can do to make this flight a little more comfortable, trying to pay for an upgrade is extremely expensive. Any tips would be appreciated.
Aug 15, 2019, 11:23 pm
#18
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Gangnam-gu, Seoul, Korea
Programs: KE Skypass Morning Calm Member, OZ Club
Posts: 2,351
I'm flying KE metal, SFO-ICN-MNL as a Skyteam Elite+(DL PM) on an N fare on 1Sept2019. Is there a decent chance of an upgrade or not at all? Is there anything that I can do to make this flight a little more comfortable, trying to pay for an upgrade is extremely expensive. Any tips would be appreciated.
You will be very comfortable in ANY economy seat. Seat pitch is around 34-35 inches. Seats recline far. Headrests have wings. I'm 5'11" (180 cm) and 280 lbs (130 kg) - all beer belly haha. But I manage to be comfortable everytime I fly the long 13-15 hr haul to Atlanta...and sleep 7-8 hrs each way everytime.
Aug 26, 2019, 8:20 am
#19
Join Date: Dec 2017
Programs: Cathay, JGC
Posts: 72
Anybody care to share their upgrade experience? I am thinking of using KE to go to the States from HK and will probably book U class tickets... Just wanted to see what the upgrade chances will be like.
Currently no status, could change to Morning Calm next year.
Seems like status holder + Y, B or M class ticket + overbooking in economy is the best way to get an upgraded.... But wanted to see what the chaces were like with different criteria. There are almost no collective data points for KE upgrades... Even on Korean sites.
Thanks!!
Currently no status, could change to Morning Calm next year.
Seems like status holder + Y, B or M class ticket + overbooking in economy is the best way to get an upgraded.... But wanted to see what the chaces were like with different criteria. There are almost no collective data points for KE upgrades... Even on Korean sites.
Thanks!!
Aug 27, 2019, 1:39 am
#20
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Switzerland; South Korea
Posts: 346
As I said a couple of posts above, my neighbor in A380 business class was U class (but then on that flight economy was WAY overbooked). Chances are probably the best on an A380 because of the size of the business cabin.
Aug 28, 2019, 9:29 am
#21
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Gangnam-gu, Seoul, Korea
Programs: KE Skypass Morning Calm Member, OZ Club
Posts: 2,351
My guess - to/from the States actually is harder with more business travelers and higher status members (due to long distances flown for work)..... and sadly HKG these days flight loads are down...
Aug 30, 2019, 10:48 am
#22
Join Date: Apr 2018
Programs: Korean Air SkyPASS, Delta SkyMiles
Posts: 4
Anybody care to share their upgrade experience? I am thinking of using KE to go to the States from HK and will probably book U class tickets... Just wanted to see what the upgrade chances will be like.
Seems like status holder + Y, B or M class ticket + overbooking in economy is the best way to get an upgraded.... But wanted to see what the chaces were like with different criteria. There are almost no collective data points for KE upgrades... Even on Korean sites.
Thanks!!
Seems like status holder + Y, B or M class ticket + overbooking in economy is the best way to get an upgraded.... But wanted to see what the chaces were like with different criteria. There are almost no collective data points for KE upgrades... Even on Korean sites.
Thanks!!
Aug 30, 2019, 10:50 am
#23
Join Date: Apr 2018
Programs: Korean Air SkyPASS, Delta SkyMiles
Posts: 4
I can attest to this. On a flight from BKK to ICN last year, there were two remaining economy seats available. Agent advised me to stand close to the counter and even let me know when they were down to one. Alas, boarding call came with that one seat still available.
Aug 30, 2019, 7:56 pm
#24
Join Date: Dec 2017
Programs: Cathay, JGC
Posts: 72
From what I understand tier doesn't really count much when it comes to upgrading in Korean Air. So no-status U class ticket holder trumps Morning calm(as well as MCP, but not sure about MM) Q ticket holder.... Well that's just my guess.
Aug 30, 2019, 9:22 pm
#25
Join Date: Dec 2017
Programs: Cathay, JGC
Posts: 72
I'm trying to decide whether or not it's worth it to attempt this strategy on a trip to BKK in October. I'm currently Morning Calm, and debating on buying an M class ticket so that I can use my SKYPASS miles to upgrade if no op-up at checkin/gate. Anyone have any experience upgrading with miles at the gate if economy is not oversold? Obviously, I'd rather not have to go that route, but I have some miles due to expire next year that I don't want to go to waste.
Aug 30, 2019, 11:45 pm
#26
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Gangnam-gu, Seoul, Korea
Programs: KE Skypass Morning Calm Member, OZ Club
Posts: 2,351
I just always ask. And like I mentioned before - use Expert Flyer to monitor the seat map. They keep it open even during check in, so you can accurately see what's available/how full it will be. I don't trust the map on Expert Flyer until T-24 or even T-3. Nobody does web/early seat selection usually.
Sep 3, 2019, 11:36 am
#27
Join Date: Apr 2018
Programs: Korean Air SkyPASS, Delta SkyMiles
Posts: 4
Good points. There were quite few empty seats in economy class on a recent Korean Air flight (Sunday noon-ish) I took, while I remeber getting upgrade on an overbooked CX flight earlier this year. Just hoping U class tickets are high enough on the list for an upgrade after the Y,B,M tickets for the US flights...
From what I understand tier doesn't really count much when it comes to upgrading in Korean Air. So no-status U class ticket holder trumps Morning calm(as well as MCP, but not sure about MM) Q ticket holder.... Well that's just my guess.
From what I understand tier doesn't really count much when it comes to upgrading in Korean Air. So no-status U class ticket holder trumps Morning calm(as well as MCP, but not sure about MM) Q ticket holder.... Well that's just my guess.