F seat with Prestige?
Sep 22, 2022, 12:35 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2018
Programs: FB Gold
Posts: 39
F seat with Prestige?
Flying from Europe to NZ over ICN in October/November. There in paid J, back in Y with a 20hr layover in Seoul.
I have a few questions:
- On the way out LHR -ICN is on an older 773 with the prestige sleeper and 8 F seats. They seems unavailable/occupied when selecting a seat and ExpertFlyer shows them as blocked. Will the be available sometime before the flight? I am STE+ as FB Gold if that helps.
- The leg to AKL is also a sleeper, any recommendations wrt the seat choice for best sleep?
- On the way back I have a layover 1800-1400 the next day. I would like to go into the city center and have a hotel there. Will they be able to check through my luggage so I don't have to worry about it?
I have a few questions:
- On the way out LHR -ICN is on an older 773 with the prestige sleeper and 8 F seats. They seems unavailable/occupied when selecting a seat and ExpertFlyer shows them as blocked. Will the be available sometime before the flight? I am STE+ as FB Gold if that helps.
- The leg to AKL is also a sleeper, any recommendations wrt the seat choice for best sleep?
- On the way back I have a layover 1800-1400 the next day. I would like to go into the city center and have a hotel there. Will they be able to check through my luggage so I don't have to worry about it?
Sep 22, 2022, 1:44 pm
#2
Join Date: Mar 2008
Posts: 1,539
I could be wrong, but since COVID started, i thought KE only makes the F seats available via cash booking (the notable exception may be the ATL-ICN route that someone here noticed was available via Award booking). Also I thought they'd only "upgrade" their KE elite members or whatever they call it.
Sep 24, 2022, 6:56 am
#3
formerly rt23456p
Join Date: May 2017
Posts: 1,210
This also happens with CZ pre-pandemic, all of the narrowbody featuring a PE cabin will operate as a standard Y cabin and will be blocked unless they can't fill up people all in Y. I would always ask for it during check-in in CZ hubs or just go onboard and ask the flight attendant for me to switch seats to the PE cabin, the FA always doesn't mind me seating at the PE cabin, considering CZ's horrible J product on narrowbodies, and the low load factor at the PE cabin, the experience is often similar. It's like Club Europe with extra legroom(35-37 inches) with standard Y service.
Sep 24, 2022, 7:02 am
#4
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Minneapolis: DL DM charter 2.3MM
Programs: A3*Gold, SPG Plat, HyattDiamond, MarriottPP, LHW exAccess, ICI, Raffles Amb, NW PE MM, TWA Gold MM
Posts: 100,417
IME if flight loads necessitate the use of FC seats for business class passengers, KE will assign such seats *only* to their own (KE) elites, not elites in close SkyTeam member partner programs. These good seats will be blocked and you may find yourself moved to a middle seat in a 2-3-2 configuration, despite having reserved a nice aisle or window seat for yourself in advance, and KE will refuse to move you to a better seat.
Sep 24, 2022, 7:58 am
#5
formerly rt23456p
Join Date: May 2017
Posts: 1,210
IME if flight loads necessitate the use of FC seats for business class passengers, KE will assign such seats *only* to their own (KE) elites, not elites in close SkyTeam member partner programs. These good seats will be blocked and you may find yourself moved to a middle seat in a 2-3-2 configuration, despite having reserved a nice aisle or window seat for yourself in advance, and KE will refuse to move you to a better seat.
Sep 26, 2022, 1:11 am
#6
Join Date: May 2003
Location: ICN
Programs: AA (850k miles), SPG Platinum
Posts: 511
I could be wrong, but since COVID started, i thought KE only makes the F seats available via cash booking (the notable exception may be the ATL-ICN route that someone here noticed was available via Award booking). Also I thought they'd only "upgrade" their KE elite members or whatever they call it.
Sep 28, 2022, 4:00 am
#7
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Gangnam-gu, Seoul, Korea
Programs: KE Skypass Morning Calm Member, OZ Club
Posts: 2,355
If you are referring to my post, it's actually for a paid prestige class seat (so not an award booking). In short, my company paid for a prestige class seat for me (cost was roughly $7k USD) and my assigned seat on ICN->ATL is what appears to be a F seat. Coming back to ICN, my flight is out of JFK and my understanding is that they still sell F tickets with F service. FWIW, I have a regular prestige seat assigned for my return flight.
Sep 28, 2022, 5:36 am
#8
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2018
Programs: FB Gold
Posts: 39
I was hoping to get such an automatic bump-up to F as well. But given the message above, I now fear that my window seat will taken away and I end up in a middle seat in 2-3-2. Very strange on what for most airlines is a high profile route to LHR...
Oct 4, 2022, 9:14 am
#9
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2018
Programs: FB Gold
Posts: 39
10 days out only 4 seats (all middle seats) are empty in the seat map and the flight is zeroed out for weeks now in terms of availability.
Is there anyone with recent experience being re-located from a window seat to a middle seat in 2-3-2?
Is there anyone with recent experience being re-located from a window seat to a middle seat in 2-3-2?