Not sure if I've seen this posted yet.

Flew on several 757's this past week, all with two rows(8 seats in F). Chatted with the FA's, they said the "heads up" is that the 757's have to be reconfigured with more seats in F.

Apparantly since joining the Star Alliance there is a mandate for more up-front seats. They were not sure whether there were going to be 3 rows (12 seats) or 4 rows (16 seats), just that the "buzz" was that it had to be done before the end of 2004.

I heard the same thing about Star Alliance mandating more first seats. A FA on a trip to Orlando last week shared that information.

It's a little like promoting a guy before you fire him, so he's out of a better job. More seats for Inventory to hold back.

OK, this rumor has resurfaced numerous times over the last couple of months, and I think the general consensus is that it is just that, a rumor. There are no plans to do this that anyone can confirm, and there is no *A requirement that mandates F seats. I'm sure this will be a topic @ this year's ROACHFest, so until then, no one really knows.