Business Class Versus Economy — How Do Idols Get Seat Assignments On Flights?

There simply aren’t enough seats up front.

Sitting on a long flight on an airplane can be extremely tedious.

TAEYONG | SM Entertainment

Sitting in Economy through a long flight is even worse.

Jimin | amino

K-Pop idols are known to fly across the world all the time.

Sometimes, different idol groups fly on the same plane for the same event.

So what happens when there aren’t enough seats in Business Class for everybody?

How do idols decide which teams, or which members, fly in Business Class and which unlucky few will fly Economy?

Former SISTAR Soyou, who has flown on a few flights herself, is here to let you know.

On an episode of SBS‘s Dolsing Fourmen, Girls’ Generation member Hyoyeon, Super Junior‘s Heechul, and former SISTAR member Soyou were featured as guests.

Hyoyeon (left) and Heechul (right) | wgsnsdfx

On this day, the guests and members spoke about how idols travel.

Lee Sang Min stated, “When teams traveled together for a show, rather than splitting rooms by gender, groups were split by tier. Roora always got the top floor.” Lee Sang Min is a member of Roora, one of K-Pop’s most popular first-generation groups.

Soyou then explained that when there are too many idols on a flight, the group that debuted first gets to sit in the best seats.

 

Left to right: Hyoyeon, Heechul, and Soyou | SBS

What happens when there are too many idols is they book seats by debut year. If you debuted early enough, you get to sit in Business. If not, you have to sit in Economy.

— Soyou

Tak Jae Hoon (left) and Kim Jun Ho (right) Yoo Ji Tae is pictured on bottom right | SBS

Comedian Kim Jun Ho commented it would be tough for those sitting in Economy, before telling a story when he was humiliated for sitting in Economy Class.

That would hurt my pride… Before, I was flying to Japan and sat in Economy. The flight attendant told me actor Yoo Ji Tae was sitting in Business Class…

— Kim Jun Ho

Comedian Kim Jun Ho and Yoo Ji Tae are known to be close friends who went to the same college. It seems Kim Jun Ho couldn’t stand the embarrassment.

I walked up to Yoo Ji Tae in Business Class and told him that I was supposed to sit in Business Class too.

— Kim Jun Ho

Although it might be a little embarrassing for the idol sitting in Economy, can you imagine how happy fans would be to sit next to an idol on a flight?

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