Star Alliance Requirements

[tadjr]

This was mentioned the other day at work and I was wondering if anyone can confirm now that they have all been reconfigured for 8 FC seats. Does Star require MORE FC seats in a 757 than 8 and if this is so, when they will start reconfiguring them again? Before anyone starts the flaming, lets at least get confirmation that its true. If so, all bets are off....
Thanks.

 

[etops1]

there are no requirements to have a certain amount of seats on any given a/c in order to be part of star. in fact you do not even need to have a f/c cabin. lufthansa flies its A330 to phl from fra and it does not have a f/c cabin .

 

[Flying Titan]

there are no requirements to have a certain amount of seats on any given a/c in order to be part of star. in fact you do not even need to have a f/c cabin. lufthansa flies its A330 to phl from fra and it does not have a f/c cabin .

Yes, but it does have biz class - which is the equivalent of domestic F/C.

 

[Light Years]

Which matches our A330 and 767 product.

The A330 still has the six seat First Class cabin and seats, but they are now considered part of the Envoy Class cabin.

The 767 is Envoy and Economy, although both are inferior to the A330 product.

 

[ktflyhome]

Tadjr...I have heard the very exact same thing. By several people. But have no facts. :unsure:

 

[L1011flyguy]

I'm not speaking from experience or inside knowledge, but I'm making an educated guess that consistency in number of F seats is NOT a requirement for Star Alliance. In fact, the number of cabins isn't even consistent amongst airlines. If you think of each airline's individual onboard (and ground) product, they vary from airline to airline in both Star Alliance and oneWorld. Even in one market alone, one carrier's Business Class product isn't equal to another.

Looking at Star Alliance only, here are some facts to support my remark:

TRANSATLANTIC
-British Midland has Economy, New Economy and Business
-United has Economy, Economy Plus, Business and First
-Lufthansa offers only Business Class and Economy Class on some Transatl flights
-Lufthansa uses the VIP BBJ/A319 (forget which) with one premium class
-SAS has some sort of premium seat in the first row of one of its cabins (can't remember which)
-USAirways has 6 F seats on the A330s still, but are sold as C class.

WORLD
-Singapore Airlines has a flat bed in Business Class - most other Star Alliance carriers don't (I know LH is installing them now on the new Airbuses).

My opinion is that in an ideal world, each airline in a particular alliance would have the same number of classes of service to offer - which would give the customer a seamless and CONSISTENT service/product. I think each airline should offer the same basic amenities across the board if they're going to sell themselves collectively as a seamless travel experience. Some of the carriers have a Premium Economy product, others do not. Some have flat beds in Business, others have standard domestic F seats. Some have seatback IFE, etc. And so on... the list goes on.

Who's in agreement with my opinion in favor of consistent products and services amongst all alliance carriers?

-L1011flyguy in Miami

 

[ktflyhome]

Actually, I now remember 2 US1's on board the other day. They both told me this. They were very upset with the new configuration. I was on the new one, with 8 seats in F/C. They both said they have emailed and complained to the Company, also. They were very nice about it, just stating their opinions. They actually got the exit row which did give them some more room.

 

[mweiss]

Who's in agreement with my opinion in favor of consistent products and services amongst all alliance carriers?

Sure but think about how hard that is to achieve. It's hard enough to do what they're already doing, which is really little more than moving bits around. Now you're talking about having each of these airlines, with their separate procurement departments, separate markets, and different management structures to all agree to offer the same product?

 

[firstamendment]

Actually, I now remember 2 US1's on board the other day. They both told me this. They were very upset with the new configuration. I was on the new one, with 8 seats in F/C. They both said they have emailed and complained to the Company, also. They were very nice about it, just stating their opinions. They actually got the exit row which did give them some more room.

Most of these 757's are used on leisure markets. Sorry US1's you lost this one with me. I have worked too many Florida flights where all 24 f/c seats were spill overs from coach. When the back would be booked to capacity in coach, f/c would go out empty. You can't have everything.

 

[ACrazy8]

Most of these 757's are used on leisure markets. Sorry US1's you lost this one with me. I have worked too many Florida flights where all 24 f/c seats were spill overs from coach. When the back would be booked to capacity in coach, f/c would go out empty. You can't have everything.

I agree.


It was a nightmare to work f/c to MCO with coach overflow. Talk about tube tops and flip flops! Kidding! The dress code I didn't mind---heck their on vacation.

However..........just how much cheap champagne, (sparkling wine, but of course the US1 knows that), can one "want" to drink at 6 AM???

 

[ITRADE]

The ironic thing about the reconfig is the fact that US commenced a program to offer discounted F class fares on routes run by the 757s - namely FLL, MCO, and LAS. 8 F seats does not permit much room for ticket sales.

As I mentioned elsewhere, while it might be likely that you would probably not sell 8 F seats to MCO, there is a good chance that you could sell at least 8 F seats to LAS. Consider the convention traffic, the junket traffic, the bachelor party traffic, etc.

Personally, I think F 12 would have been better.

In any event, I've seen F 8 on 757s in China. Quite an awkward feel.

 

[TomBascom]

If overselling coach in "leisure markets" is such a big problem maybe someone ought to do something creative like add a few flights...

 

[ktflyhome]

Well, guys, I too have seen the spill over, and we all know it "ain't too pretty at time". I was just telling you what a couple of US1's relayed to me. Bottom line, is you can please some of the people some of the time, some of the people all of the time, but none of the people ALL of the time.

People love to ####. That is life. That is why most of us spend time on this board. YUK< YUK< YUK!!!

Look at the world around us right now. <_<

 

[mwereplanes]

I was in Vegas the other day and the station manager came to the flight deck. We were discussing various things and he mentioned that the 75's would need to be reconfigured with more 1st class seats. He stated it was because of the Star Alliance. This is what he said. Not me.

If true, it would be yet another feather in the cap of the intelligent, competent, and effective management we have. Someone obviously did not check prior to issuing the order to change to 8 seats. Now how much do you suppose it will cost to put more seats in?

mr