RichardMEL

Just off 841 LAX-AKL-MEL. Everything was fine LAX-AKL. I had 22A and no seatnates around me (very nice).

Get to AKL and we reboard, suddenly I have a seatmate (attractive, though ). She tells me "I had 15B before, but now I am here." same from a guy behind us. What's going on? F/A's think it is odd. They have cleared everyone out of the upper deck.

The answer comes back: From next month(according to the agent@AKL anyway) UA will only staff the 744 with ** minimum FAA requirements for F/A's ** specially on hops like AKL-MEL-AKL(no word on the longer hauls).

This is bad. I can see why (and the load on AKL-MEL was only 32/73 in C) but still, this means less F/A's working, and no access to the upper deck for us pax, and thus less upgrades available.

Also an announcement from the Captain saying ONLY pax with seat assignments up there were permitted up there - no other pax, andthe crew were enforcing it!

This gets nastier every day.

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RichardMEL, UA 1K
A Star Alliance Member.

R.I.P. Ansett Australia,
Previously "One of the world's Great Airlines"

sendoisan

R.I.P.?? My brother is flying Ansett within the next 36 hours.

tom911

Is this a new reincarnation of Ansett with planes owned by Qantas or Virgin Blue? Not sure what you mean when you say he'll be flying Ansett.

I'm in 15A for SFO-HKG-SIN in less than two weeks. Hope my seat is still there for the longer haul flights. I don't know what loads have been running on that route, though.

LHR Tim

Looks like it, albeit very cut down service (SYD-MEL only)

http://www.ansett.com.au/about/hotline_m.htm#27_09_1

1K-SFO

RichardMEL, I guess I'm a bit confused... on pretty empty flights, the upper deck of a 744 will be shut down-- but otherwise it's open as usual?

This'll become an issue for those of us who book the upper deck well in advance-- as the day of the flight, the upper deck may be shut down and we'll be shifted to middle seats on the main deck...

sendoisan

Ansett planes set to fly again

Sep 27 Jason Koutsoukis and Jane Boyle - AFR

Ansett jets are expected to be flying again by the weekend after the Federal Government yesterday agreed to an 11th-hour deal with the stricken airline's administrator to underwrite $25 million worth of tickets for the next 12 weeks.

Taxpayers' money is not at risk as the administration firm, Andersen, has indemnified the Government.

The deal prompted the administrator, Mr Mark Mentha, to declare that a slimmed down version of the airline now had a chance of surviving as he would pursue talks with prospective buyers of the company.

Five Ansett A320 Airbus planes could be in service by Saturday, with another six jets over the following two weeks, ensuring work for about 1,500 of Ansett's 16,000-strong staff.

Under the deal, the Government will refund the cost of any tickets if the airline is unable to avoid liquidation.

chix

Exactly my thoughts too. So if I have booked 15A on the upper, should I consider changing to the main deck?

FT'ers, please pass on your experiences so that we can decide what to do for those who have long term reservations on the upper deck.

avgas

Pretty good grounds to request the elusive double upgrade if you have in your hands a fax print out showing row 15, and they have handed you a row 24D boarding pass instead.

I do about a dozen long haul 747 flights in row 15 a year, and notice that if there is a pretty full upper deck, it often is only half full downstairs, so it clearly seems to a preferred seating area by pax. Trouble is, downstairs C holds 57 even new-config I think, so unless more than 57 are booked in C, (unlikely on most routes at most times for few months I bet) you have no guarantees.

Bonk

Flew SFO-IAD-LHR on 9/24
SFO-IAD -- F full, around 15+/- pax in coach
IAD-LHR -- originally assigned seats 12A and B. Seats reassigned to 22F and G. 3 pax in business class.

SF1K

Hey RichardMEL - so you were on the 841 that departed LAX on 9/25. I was on that flight. When my mom and I reboarded in AKL they wanted to put us downstairs. I said I'd have no problem sitting downstairs in rows 1-5. They moved us back up to the upper deck. We were in 15 A&B. 2 FAs up there most of the time, 3 during service. Seems like 2 could handle a full load on that flight anyway, since the service isn't that extensive, on the AKL-MEL-AKL segements I mean.

RichardMEL

SF1K - coool. Hmm did they give you a bottle of champ as well out of AKL? (Yes, UA is going down the tube, but there are still BRE's to be had!) There were only 2 1K's on that sector, and that must have been us an all FT elite flight

Anyway sorry I was not clear with my original post but as SF1K knows, they relented at AKL and reassigned people back upstairs because the whole thing was absurd. A real case of the left hand not knowing what the right hand was doing with that one.


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RichardMEL, UA 1K
A Star Alliance Member.

R.I.P. Ansett Australia,
Previously "One of the world's Great Airlines"

SF1K

No champagne for me. Oh well, it was a very nice flight and the first time I've been in C+, what a difference.

RichardMEL

Sorry you missed out on the BRE - maybe there is something to be said for sitting right by the galley The crew on both legs were really good - had no complaints whatsoever.

And yes, C+ rocks

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RichardMEL, UA 1K
A Star Alliance Member.

R.I.P. Ansett Australia,
Previously "One of the world's Great Airlines"

stimpy

I just booked row 11 for next week which is upstairs on the LAX-IAD 747.

stimpy

And I can report that the upper deck was full on flight #2 today.