Who gets Priority? Staff op ups v FF op ups!

[ozbeachbabe]

Slightly different question.

If your sitting on a Virgin flight, you checked in 24hrs before checkin and get Row 3C, on a Saver fare as a Platinum.

Do you think it's fare that at -15mins a staff traveller grabs the last seat on the aircraft, 2C and because he/she is sitting next to a PE pax. Receives full PE service.

Should the airport leave you where you are seated, as you selected 3C. Or move you to 2C and give you PE service and then move the staff traveller to 3C.

Thoughts?

It would depend if the fare paid by DJ staff travel entitles the staff to receive full PE service. If it does, then I don't see a problem with it. Do DJ staff get J on the A330 domestically?

There's a set number of 'upgradeable' J seats for commercial pax wanting to do points upgrades - it's not unlimited so as not to devalue the cabin for commercial paying J pax.

In general, staff on duty travel will trump spare J seats regardless, as there's a bit more staff control over this process. Must-rides are crew on operational duty travel ie they are deadheading for duty and they cannot be displaced or downgraded (with one rare situation for downgrades). They have the highest codes of all.

Note that the system that does the regrades ('op-up' is a non-existent term), now requires almost no intervention and goes strictly in order of priority codes, so these 'friends getting upgrades' stories are much rarer than they sound ...at most ports ....(I won't name the port where the most interference happens, but everyone knows which one it is!). Codes have two parts: an onload and an upgrade component. One gets you on, the other gets the F/J seat. Jump seats have another set of rules (red background, and from some pilots, no duty travel allowed in jumps).

If you're at the service desk, you'll often hear at T-15 a whole set of boarding passes printing one after the other: this is the automated staff regrades occurring. Staff generally sit in the last row of J so the meal-not-assured situation can be handled more easily by the cabin crew. The system is complicated, but by god is it well understood by each and every damned employee!!!

The rule on duty travel jump seaters is always changing, technically it's allowed at the Captain's discretion. At the moment any ASIC for the QF Group is okay even blue - it doesn't have to be a red background but it cannot be a contractor. In any case the Captain will have the final say on whoever is in the jump seat as they should.

There is one category 41, that was created for management (in lieu of a pay rise) which effectively gazumps most other employees incl. pilots or FA's when they're travelling on leisure travel even if they'd had 30 years service!

One crew was telling me recently they had two people wanting the jump seat - an engineer & one 'management'. The legend in his own briefcase said "I'll just take the jumpseat" but the Skipper on finding out he was a "41" said no deal.

 

[LiamR]

It would depend if the fare paid by DJ staff travel entitles the staff to receive full PE service. If it does, then I don't see a problem with it. Do DJ staff get J on the A330 domestically?

Staff can only buy Y tickets domestically at the moment, not PE. Currently you can't buy J seats on the A330 either.

The rule on duty travel jump seaters is always changing. At the moment any ASIC for the QF Group is okay - it doesn't have to be a red background but cannot be a contractor. In any case the Captain will have the final say on whoever is in the jump seat as they should.

Same rule on Virgin re Jumpseat. But I don't you need a Virgin ASIC, if you are on staff travel (or one using your benefits) has an ASIC you can ask the Captain to take the jumpseat if the rest of the aircraft is full. The captain always has the final decision.

From what I've heard, unless you know the Flight Crew well, they will usually say no.

 

[ozbeachbabe]

Staff can only buy Y tickets domestically at the moment, not PE. Currently you can't buy J seats on the A330 either. Same rule on Virgin re Jumpseat. But I don't you need a Virgin ASIC, if you are on staff travel (or one using your benefits) has an ASIC you can ask the Captain to take the jumpseat if the rest of the aircraft is full. The captain always has the final decision.

From what I've heard, unless you know the Flight Crew well, they will usually say no.

We in that case they should probably put the a Platinum in PE & the staff member can have 3C. DJ's Navitaire system isn't set up to rectify this kind of thing happening so unless staff intervene I don't see it happening.

QF's Altea system would upgrade a WP to J to onload a staff member on a non-upgradeable ticket into whY. If the staff member had paid for a J ticket they would get J if there was a seat available.

 

[LiamR]

We in that case they should probably put the a Platinum in PE & the staff member can have 3C. DJ's Navitaire system isn't set up to rectify this kind of thing happening so unless staff intervene I don't see it happening.

QF's Altea system would upgrade a WP to J to onload a staff member on a non-upgradeable ticket into whY. If the staff member had paid for a J ticket they would get J if there was a seat available.

Staff have never manually moved the Staff traveller to Y and upgraded a Plat to PE, or at least, in my experience.

I know that Navitaire is very basic when it comes to these sort of things. I take it Altea will move pax automatically in this scenario?

 

[cove]

Thought about the last 6 flights to the US and 3 times we have had QF staff or family on board in First. I am happy when every seat is taken and feel it is a waste to have even one empty seat up front.
I feel the same about business class going to waste.
Airline seats have a use by date.

 

[ozbeachbabe]

Staff have never manually moved the Staff traveller to Y and upgraded a Plat to PE, or at least, in my experience.

I know that Navitaire is very basic when it comes to these sort of things. I take it Altea will move pax automatically in this scenario?

Yes it does - the pro-active onload list will recommend two pax to be upgraded to J in order to onload the non-upgradeable staff into Y.

It'll be interesting to see what happens on DJ's A330 when there are 15 staff who are only entitled to travel in whY & only business class seats left. It would be a lot of mucking about to upgrade the high tier f/flyers & onload DJ staff into the vacated why seats. Interesting times ahead me thinks. :shock:

 

[LiamR]

Yes it does - the pro-active onload list will recommend two pax to be upgraded to J in order to onload the non-upgradeable staff into Y.

It'll be interesting to see what happens on DJ's A330 when there are 15 staff who are only entitled to travel in whY & only business class seats left. It would be a lot of mucking about to upgrade the high tier f/flyers & onload DJ staff into the vacated why seats. Interesting times ahead me thinks. :shock:

Yeah, I agree. This is what usually happens...

Those on Staff Travel checkin via the kiosk, and if there is more than 10 free seats they'll be able to pick a seat in Y and then be issued a boarding pass.

If there is less than 10 seats, they get a "This is not a boarding pass." which they present at the gate -15mins to go, just as boarding is finishing.

Usually by then, if there is no Y seats and J/PE seats available, they'll be issued a boarding pass for whatever free seat. Since most pax have boarded, they won't bother (I've never seen it happen) to upgrade a FF'er.

 

[ozbeachbabe]

Two staff entitled to J on a flight to PER were bumped back to whY as they were dressed in blue denim jeans.

Full flight so two WP's got op-up'd so the staff could sit in whY. The irony was that the WP's were both wearing jeans which of course does not matter if you're a commercial passenger.

 

[jb747]

Two staff entitled to J on a flight to PER were bumped back to whY as they were dressed in blue denim jeans.

Actually, jeans are allowed for duty travel, but not for holiday travel. Work that one out.

 

[milehighclub]

Actually, jeans are allowed for duty travel, but not for holiday travel. Work that one out.

Not quite - blue jeans are not allowed for any travel in the premium cabins.

You can wear blue jeans in economy. You can't wear jeans with designer holes etc in any cabin.

I wear my black jeans all the time on holiday travel.

 

[reductionist]

Two staff entitled to J on a flight to PER were bumped back to whY as they were dressed in blue denim jeans.

Ooh. Who decides on & enforces this?

I really wouldn't want to be the person who had to make that call and deliver the bad news.

 

[milehighclub]

Ooh. Who decides on & enforces this?

I really wouldn't want to be the person who had to make that call and deliver the bad news.

The ground staff enforce it and staff travel set the rules. The dress code is on the staff travel website.

On duty travel though each department can impose a stricter dress code on their staff. For example cabin crew must either wear a jacket with optional tie, or no jacket with a tie.

 

[ozbeachbabe]

Last year there was a kerfuffle about Ruby Rose (some kind of celebrity apparently) who was the travelling companion of a QF staffer & felt that she didn't have to observe the rules that apply to everyone else who uses staff travel namely no jeans in Business Class.

Qantas bans Ruby Rose from business-class over jeans | News.com.au

This is the same chick who was trying to queue jump to get entry to some nightclub & when the bouncers didn't let her in she yelled at them to 'Google' her.