Korean Air SkyPass: Little Last Minute Award Space for NYC, Chicago, Washington, Atlanta

Korean Air SkyPass Usually Has Excellent First Class Award Availability, even last minute, thanks to the fact that Korean Air is a SkyTeam member and Delta frequent flyers can't book it with Delta SkyMiles, due to Delta not having an international first class product, and because, the 2018 Olympic games notwithstanding, there's often less demand for flights that route via Seoul.

Because of that, you're mostly competing with others who have Chase Ultimate Rewards points, earned from the Chase Sapphire Reserve, Ink Business Preferred, and other Chase cards, that can be transferred to Korean Air SkyPass, and are happy to route via Seoul.

Recently, however, I took a look at the Korean Air First Class award calendar and was shocked at how little award availability there is between Seoul and the following U.S. airports: NYC JFK, Chicago ORD, Washington, DC IAD, and Atlanta ATL. Airports such as SFO, LAX and SEA didn't seem to be all that limited.

The current 2018 Olympics, even though they end Sunday February 25, may have something to do with that: perhaps there are visitors spending time in Korea after the games and returning to the U.S. at various times in March that have resulted in the award availability below. On the other hand, there may simply be high spring break demand, given the limited award space on outbound flights from the U.S. to Seoul in March:

Seoul to NYC JFK:

NYC JFK to Seoul:

Seoul to Chicago ORD:

ORD to Seoul ICN:

Seoul to Washington, DC IAD:

Seoul to Atlanta ATL:

That said, there's still significant Korean First Class award space further out. Just be sure to avoid the peak dates, which incur far more expensive pricing: 120,000 miles instead 80,000 miles each way.