P.A.'s And Crusing Altitudes

[Easy226]

To all you pilots,
When on certain flights, I have read that there is something called a step up altitude that you climb to when enough fuel has been burned off. When I was on a flight to Larnaca in the summer the pilot said we were crusing at 33,000ft (FL330) and I was just wondering when and if a step up altitude is granted, would you tell the passengers that you are crusing at a different altitude, or not bother (i don't think they would notice-:D )???!!
Many Thanks, Dan

[Notso Fantastic]

It used to be you'd wait until you'd burnt off enough fuel that the aircraft could climb 4000' (easterlies FL290,330,370, westerlies FL310,350,390). Now it has changed to odds easterly and evens westerly so step climbs can be done more frequently, and more advanced flight planning techniques using forecast winds and different altitudes frequently encourage staying lower or climbing as soon as possible. On long flights (>12 hours), it is common to start at FL290 or FL310 (B747-400) and end up having stepped up to FL390 as weight allowed during the flight. It is normal to grab what higher level you can when you can as other airlines have similar schedules to similar areas and rather than the niceties, it's better to get it while you can!
As for announcing it, I usually announce before takeoff the highest level we will be flying at and leave it to movies/sleep after that. It's not normal to announce climbs to people- too many numbers are not retained, and the passengers are not aware of climbs. These days we don't usually even PA special sights of interest (coast of Greenland, volcanos, topographical features, cities). Hardly anybody can see them from the windows, and with films running, meal services etc, it's just a disturbance.