See, I wouldn't go out of my way to get on LA F just because my ticket entitles to me (particularly since the AKL-SYD schedule just WON'T do it for me...) When I was unable to book the A seats on the LA flight, I re-jiggered my itinerary to fly SYD-CHC//AKL-MEL, instead of SYD-AKL//CHC-MEL, as the CHC-MEL would have been on a narrowbody 737, wheereas my revised itinerary had me on the int'l-763s in both directions across the tasman. Overall, a better itinerary (assuming you want to see more of Aust & NZ than just AKL and SYD.

And who needs a nap in a flat bed on a 3-hour flight in the middle of the day, anyway?!?

Quite so. Also, although my QF experience on the segment in biz has been good, I'd like a firsthand look at what LAN looks like in the front cabin, and how they behave in general. There have been some fairly negative posts here in the past, although I suppose they've mostly been critical of ground activities like releasing premium seats.

OTOH if they hadn't given me seats I'd not have shed too many tears at not having to get up for an 06:55 departure.

[SanDiego1K's post had me rethinking the idea - I know where to find all the indifferent FA's I need without searching SWP - but I suppose it will be a good lesson in LAN Chile. Better to learn about them on a 3 hour flight then on a long-haul out of LAX. I don't suppose I'm going to get a set of PJ's out of them, for my half-vast PJ collection, am I?]

People who have to be at the airport at 4am for their 5:25am departure on a 3 hour flight with a flat bed

I wonder if it is an uninsipred lackluster service (she's not the only one who has commented on this) because the same crew, and many of the same passengers, are then going trans-pacific, and maybe that is a very nice service.

I suspect the real reason is that most of the SYD-AKL traffic is QF codeshares and LA would rather spend the money on the AKL-SCL leg (where it is mostly LA revenue). They probably rate each leg for profitability separately and adjust the service level to match the revenue stream. So it isn't a useful "sampler" route as it does not have typical F service for LA, and it doesn't have the "new J" which LA uses on the US routes ... so in both respects LA will be worse than for typical flights. I guess LA doesn't care too much about this; though it is interesting that the loads are down compared to last year (while almost every other route in the world is way up!).

Lately it has been 04:55 departure Even more reason to sleep the whole flight across.


Is the reduced loads perhaps related to the increase in frequency this year?

Exactly -- I'd rather stay in a real bed with a mattress for a couple hours extra and then be able to enjoy what is still a very nice flight over on QF.

You guys are convincing me ....

For a different perspective: I did the LAN flights SYD AKL and back in February with my AONE5, and I enjoyed the service. And since this is FT, let me tell you that I'm d*mned well going to get my 150% AA Q points when I'm paying for an AONE5!

You get 150% q-points on both QF biz and LA first, but you will get about 400 more actual miles on LA. As much as I love LA, I agree with the biz camp about the extra sleep.

You are correct! I had mileage bonus confused with Q points.

I flew Syd-Akl-SCL in J last year....the difference between Syd-Akl and Akl-Scl was quite amazing (distance as well! ); on the shorter sector, there were no menus, had a crappy sandwich for lunch etc etc; when I returned to the flight for the longer leg, the FAs (change of crew @ Akl) were all very smart, dressed in their jackets etc etc, handed out wine and meal menus, blankets, kits etc etc, and the service was noticeably better...it was like stepping into a different plane So I suppose it would be similar in F