New QF A380 reconfiguration!!!

[jb747]

I can see upper Y pax following a) J/W out if there is an upper jetbridge in use and b) F/J/W out via the forward stairs if only the lower jetbridge is available.You are probably correct - in fact I can see some row 88 (or thereabourts) PAX discretely heading upstairs to disembark ...

There is a barrier at the top of the stairs that can readily be closed...rather Titanic style.

 

[NM]

Boarding and departure were both via upper deck. In MEL, I walked to the " business class" gate, showed row 32 boarding pass and was directed to board via the upper deck. Leaving was a matter of waiting until J and PE passengers left and following them through the upper deck bridge.

 

[FlyboyAl]

After all the discussion, I think I'll come down from upstairs and go to 48A and see what the experience is.
I'll watch the forum and see what others say. Be interested to see if we still get the free grog upstairs in the bar!

 

[ozmille]

my 4 upcoming A380 flights have now all changed to the new configuration. Have a couple of months to go though so might still change

 

[mannej]

my 4 upcoming A380 flights have now all changed to the new configuration. Have a couple of months to go though so might still change

We had a bit of a see-saw with this.

It has changed to the new config about 6-8 weeks out, changed back to the old config up until about 3 days prior, then changed to the new config again within 48 hours or so of the flight. Due to this, all of the upper deck was selectable.

Row 32 AB were the two that I got, and they did help the flight go alot quicker. The Side storage bins (on the actual window) were great, however the actual bins are tiny.

Apart from the APU not working so no air con waiting, the lack of the storage did seem to bother other pax.

 

[jb747]

my 4 upcoming A380 flights have now all changed to the new configuration. Have a couple of months to go though so might still change

I expect it will change multiple times...

 

[Happy Trails]

After all the discussion, I think I'll come down from upstairs and go to 48A and see what the experience is.
I'll watch the forum and see what others say. Be interested to see if we still get the free grog upstairs in the bar!

I read somewhere (earlier in this thread?) that the process has changed and that row 48 pax are now held at the gate and boarded last.

 

[FlyboyAl]

Bugger!

 

[ozmille]

We had a bit of a see-saw with this.

It has changed to the new config about 6-8 weeks out, changed back to the old config up until about 3 days prior, then changed to the new config again within 48 hours or so of the flight. Due to this, all of the upper deck was selectable.

Row 32 AB were the two that I got, and they did help the flight go alot quicker. The Side storage bins (on the actual window) were great, however the actual bins are tiny.

Apart from the APU not working so no air con waiting, the lack of the storage did seem to bother other pax.

On the seatmap for December there is only 11 seats free in J all the rest is taken :shock: could be a busy flight

QF 001 F3 A3 J9 C9 D4 IL W9 R9 T9 Y9 B9 H9 K6 ML LL GL

 

[Rebekkap]

Looks like for Y passengers row 32 might be a good one to select (somewhat similar to 71D, 80A/K) and meals may be served quicker - if the catering is on a different trolley to PE then upper deck Y and PE may be served at the same time?

Agree with the sentiments about the downgrade in PE, it has cheapened the product. I doubt there would be a price reduction to reflect this change.

You might also get some J/PE pax using the upper deck Y toilets - more often than not on the current config J pax use the PE toilets if there is too big of a line.

I've selected row 32 for a flight back from the US - if anyone has any further thoughts along these lines, I'd love to hear them!

 

[mannej]

On the seatmap for December there is only 11 seats free in J all the rest is taken :shock: could be a busy flight

QF 001 F3 A3 J9 C9 D4 IL W9 R9 T9 Y9 B9 H9 K6 ML LL GL

Ours flight had 484 passengers on it, so was completely full.

As we were in economy, the late config change open the upper deck up completely for selection, which was a bonus.

 

[eosphoros]

Flying QF108 on 13/11 in A380 Y for the first time in a few years. Was tossing up whether or not to take row 32 but now that I know there is no cutout in the bulkhead, I am extremely disappointed. At 6"4', a bulkhead without a cutout is a lot worse than having a normal row of seats in front. I was greatly looking forward to the private mini-cabin feel.

Anyway, I called up to change my seats (I can't access this booking via MBB for some reason and cannot see a seat map) and was assisted by a wonderful lady at the Platinum desk who assigned me 48A! I thought this was an exit row seat and required a payment, but she allocated it to me sans fee. Makes up for my previous call to the platinum desk where the agent said she wasn't able to assign ANY WINDOW SEAT on the LAX-SYD leg, nor was she able to assign 43A on the JFK-LAX leg on the 744 (which for some reason I was able to secure this time!)

 

[FlyboyAl]

I've got the same seat as you. I didn't pay for the upstairs one, and I didn't pay when I changed to the downstairs one. Might be a bug in the system

 

[Kangol]

my 4 upcoming A380 flights have now all changed to the new configuration. Have a couple of months to go though so might still change

What flights are they if you don't mind me asking? Are any of them ex-MEL?

Row 32 AB were the two that I got, and they did help the flight go alot quicker. The Side storage bins (on the actual window) were great, however the actual bins are tiny.

Apart from the APU not working so no air con waiting, the lack of the storage did seem to bother other pax.

What do you mean by "lack of storage", are the overhead bins smaller?

 

[ozmille]

What flights are they if you don't mind me asking? Are any of them ex-MEL?

Nope, all SYD-SIN-LHR and SYD-DXB-LHR

 

[MrTed]

Hi everyone....this is my first post.

I am on QF2 in late January, and the old config is showing. I was able to snag 38f, the aisle seat of the middle block at the exit, for no fee. There was only one other seat available, 36f. I am back down to bronze after years of silver, but have maintained QC.
I guess I'll be furiously checking the seat map every day until the flight! I hope it doesn't get updated. I post here if there are any changes.

 

[tuapekastar]

Hi everyone....this is my first post.

I am on QF2 in late January, and the old config is showing. I was able to snag 38f, the aisle seat of the middle block at the exit, for no fee. There was only one other seat available, 36f. I am back down to bronze after years of silver, but have maintained QC.
I guess I'll be furiously checking the seat map every day until the flight! I hope it doesn't get updated. I post here if there are any changes.

Welcome to AFF MrTed!

Enjoy the flight!

 

[MrTed]

Welcome to AFF MrTed!

Enjoy the flight!

Thank you, tuapekastar! I expect I'll be on here a lot.

 

[jb747]

Hi everyone....this is my first post.

I am on QF2 in late January, and the old config is showing. I was able to snag 38f, the aisle seat of the middle block at the exit, for no fee. There was only one other seat available, 36f. I am back down to bronze after years of silver, but have maintained QC.
I guess I'll be furiously checking the seat map every day until the flight! I hope it doesn't get updated. I post here if there are any changes.

I'm not sure of the time frame for completion of all of the aircraft, but I think it's currently about one every 4 weeks. So, I wouldn't really expect many old config aircraft to be around come late January.

I've just flown the new config on both 9/10 and 1/2 routings.

 

[bablong]

I flew QF1 on 1 October in rows 32 and 33 with my wife and two kids. I am 175cm tall and found row 32 fine. I prefer not to have someone reclining in front of me. My wife sat behind me and said the seat was great except for the inflight entertainment box impinging on the width of the below seat leg room. Otherwise, the small cabin was great and private and perfect for travelling with a two kid family as each parent could have a kid and not have a stranger sitting next to them.

Two weeks earlier I flew QF2 and was assigned row 50 old config. It has the same leg room as row 32. I had 50C with 50B empty. Seat was great except for the closeness of the galley and the curtain which kept knocking against my leg. A few wines and a natural sleeping tablet meant that after a while it didn't worry me at all