On the 744, I follow normal procedure and press TO/GA on takeoff to engage the (armed) autothrottle. But sometimes the autopilot disconnects in mid-air for whatever reason, and while I can just press CMD A and it will resume VNAV and LNAV, the autothrottle doesn't re-engage, and that obviously messes up my whole route because with the wrong throttles I can't reach appropriate altitudes etc.So my question is, how do I instruct the airplane to fly with the autothrottles again, in the case where the AP has been disconnected in mid-flight? Thanks a lot in advance! Greg.

Greg,You should be fine reengaging the A/T by clicking VNAV again. This of course if A/T is still armed (on). Check the FMA on the top of your PFD and confirm A/T mode selected.No need to blame A/T for a messed up route. If nothing else helps you as the captain (though virtual) of the ship (though virtual) is responsible for applying the right amount of throttle. ;-) Hope it helps,

assuming of course that the throttle is also virtual :(Seriously though, why did the AP disconnect? and did the A/T stay ARMED? If it did, then it will resume operation when you hit the VNAV button (supposedly) as the AP will do it's best to use the best throttle mode with VNAV if the A/T is armed (I've had it randomly disarm on me but the switch didn't move, just toggle the switch, and it should work again).-Brian