QF to launch SYD DFW from 16 May and axe SFO

[rtyuiop]

I'm posting from the DFW AC, having just gotten off this flight. I can confirm 4A is an excellent way to cross the Pacific!

I also had the fastest, friendliest customs and immigration experience I've ever had coming into the US, but I think we only just beat a KLM A330 and a Lufthansa A340 - might have been different if we hadn't!

I'm liking DFW more than LAX so far, that's for sure...

Danny

 

[cove]

Hey Danny,we need to keep our 4A seat a secret! I use the ledge for my sleep machine,pillows,reading materials and that little bag they give you.
Texas is a lot of fun and a great place for conferences and conventions.

 

[NM]

Thanks for your quick reply.
Good to know I can add my QF FF no. to the AA booking.
Are we able to have our PNRs linked so my status gets us both PE if available?

If you booking was made at one time via AAdvantage service desk, then its likley to already be a single booking and will have the owner of the AAdvantage account as the first passenger on the itinerary. So in that case the status of that member (being either AAdvantage or Qantas FF) will influence the seating available to the entire party.

If it stwo separate PNRs then call Qantas and quote the two Qantas booking references (not the AA booking references - you can ask AA for the Qantas references or call Qantas and quote flight details and name and they can locate them) and ask for them to be TCP-ed. This is more than just a "link". Then you should be able to assign seats based on the status of one passenger.

Note that seats will stick even if you later change the FF details and effectively remove the status, but you won't be able to change them after that.

I had one booking made via AAdvantage for 6 family members all in economy. I was able to select the entire row 4 on a 737 (AKL-SYD). But later I changed to3 x J and 3 x Y, with one of the J seats being for me (the status member). After the change I was unable to make changes to the 3 seated in Y since it was now split into two separate PRNs and since in different classes could not be TCP-ed. The problem was that the 3 remaining Y seats were something like 4A, 4D and 4F. I should have rearrange them to be 4ABC before splitting the PNRs into two.

 

[rtyuiop]

Hey Danny,we need to keep our 4A seat a secret! I use the ledge for my sleep machine,pillows,reading materials and that little bag they give you.
Texas is a lot of fun and a great place for conferences and conventions.

I dunno, I reckon anyone in a position to end up in that cabin may have spotted the vast quantities of space before!

Have to admit, I'm a little sad I couldn't stay in TX for a few days - never been there before...

Cheers,

Danny

 

[Timtammi]

Ok, share the secret, what is so good about 4A? Or what makes it preferable to any other seat in the F cabin?
I'm booked on a FASA LHR-MEL later this year and we have 1A and 1K, is 4A better?

Cheers

Timmi

 

[serfty]

4A/4K are designated bassinet positions; when there's no bassinet needed the area makes for great storage space.

Also, plenty of OHSB space in that area, unlike rows 1 and 2.

 

[11sjw]

Thanks for the update - I was wondering if this would be the case.

I shall move myself to 36J

Good move to go with the J/B option in row 36. Had 36B SYD-LAX last month. Mounting the backpack and 2 spare blankets on the swivel out footrest creates an ottoman type legrest. Slightly precarious with the balance of it all but great on the comfort factor

 

[serfty]

Good move to go with the J/B option in row 36. Had 36B SYD-LAX last month. Mounting the backpack and 2 spare blankets on the swivel out footrest creates an ottoman type legrest. Slightly precarious with the balance of it all but great on the comfort factor

Given row 36 is a designated exit row, this may not be permitted by the Cabin Crew.

YMMV

 

[11sjw]

Given row 36 is a designated exit row, this may not be permitted by the Cabin Crew.

YMMV

It was all sitting on the footrest. Nothing in the exit row as such!

 

[Fifa]

If you booking was made at one time via AAdvantage service desk, then its likley to already be a single booking and will have the owner of the AAdvantage account as the first passenger on the itinerary. So in that case the status of that member (being either AAdvantage or Qantas FF) will influence the seating available to the entire party.

If it stwo separate PNRs then call Qantas and quote the two Qantas booking references (not the AA booking references - you can ask AA for the Qantas references or call Qantas and quote flight details and name and they can locate them) and ask for them to be TCP-ed. This is more than just a "link". Then you should be able to assign seats based on the status of one passenger.

Note that seats will stick even if you later change the FF details and effectively remove the status, but you won't be able to change them after that.

Thank you so much for your detailed response, NM. You have answered my questions perfectly!
I am now ready to book our flights but when I phoned the US today "the computers were playing up"!

 

[Princess Fiona]

Slightly OT but love the new ad with JR and Sue Ellen being offered a bottle of Penfolds St Henri

 

[Danger]

Slightly OT but love the new ad with JR and Sue Ellen being offered a bottle of Penfolds St Henri

Yes, definitely agree. I think it looks great. Dallas was well beyond my bedtime when it was on TV but the characters I do recognise. I wonder if QF approached the actors themselves, or if it's just some approved photoshopping.

I did take a second glance, however, at the seat JR and Sue Ellen are in. I stand to be corrected but isn't it a skybed mark II? If so, I seem to recall a similar incident a few months ago when Qantas's Soccerroos promotion (for the special direct SYD-JNB flight with the players) also featured shots of the mark II, but on the 747 service.

 

[UP4014]

Another problem...

Qantas has further hiccup on Dallas route - Yahoo!7 Finance

 

[docjames]

Most importantly, who got pics of the QF744 on the ground in NOU? :mrgreen:

I'm not certain why people are so against this route - sure, it's on the edge, but factor that into the calculations. The 90 min stop / 2hrs later into BNE and thus syd is the same as if you'd had to transit LAX anyway. Again, QF pilots are very conservative and will stop rather than "risk it". Other airlines might be prepared to take more risk.

FWIW, there were thunderstorms in BNE last night, so I guess risk of ongoing weather at destination + headwinds = land for top up.


/sort of OT/
Can I ask the experts (jb747 - ) if a "scheduled" tech stop in either NAN or NOU were to become a forward planned event, assuming no pax offloads etc, what's the minimum turnaround time on the ground (ISTR that there needs to be a certain minimum for brake cooling or something similar - or does this not apply to the 744? Plus there'd be a minimum amountof time that would be required for fuel top-up too even if not limited by other factors.)

For the pedants out there, I'm not necessarily suggesting QF should be making the stop routine, just curious.

 

[jb747]

A planned stop is way better than a unplanned, simply because you'll adjust everything about the flight to fit with the stop. Fuel loading will probably be reduced, as you won't need to be carrying it. You can probably go a bit faster. Everybody should be ready for the stop. Brake temps should not be an issue. You could well be in and out in 30 minutes with a bit of forward effort.

 

[docjames]

Thanks for answering.

Interesting.

 

[serfty]

The winds have been unusual the last few days; QF94 went via SYD for a 'splash and go' this morning and I saw a report that QF12 nearly diverted to BNE for same.

 

[medhead]

Slightly OT but love the new ad with JR and Sue Ellen being offered a bottle of Penfolds St Henri

You made me have a proper look at the photo. I guess that is JR. I thought he was dead.....

 

[simongr]

No he just had bad liver disease so I am sure the St Henri was appreciated...

 

[drewbles]

Out of interest, and not meaning to be pessimistic, would QF end up cancelling the route if these unscheduled tech-stops became a little too frequent?

Just not sure what they used to do in the days where no-stop flights to the USA first started, but I'd assume it would be similar to this (although there isn't really an a/c in the works that will do what they want, short of moving to a 777).