Originally Posted by
Surprise
I haven't been in this situation, and in fact I haven't read the exact language myself, but as it was explained to me, you can't be bumped off a mainline jumpseat if the airplane is over weight or out of balance. They'll bump revenue pax or cargo first.
It might seem counterintuitive, but I believe this is to the company's benefit, because it reduces the incidence of stuck or missed commutes. Pilots get where they need to be on a reliable basis. So if they really want to get rid of this system, then #whatevs.
I see...
I guess the RJ is an edge case. The 50 seat CRJ has a crazy forward CG to begin with, so bumping pax probably wouldn't do any good.
It is rare, but it definitely can happen. I have always done my best to get jumpseaters on, but when it doesn't work, there's not a thing we could can do. I know our company would not be cool with bumping pax-but I doubt it would fix the situation with CG most of the time.
In my opinion, the first legacy that starts home basing will reap huge rewards. Rather than having to send out reserves and risk the possibility of running out and cancelling a flight, it would certainly seem that a positive space pass at the beginning and end of a trip would be the way to go. Just think of how many reserves get used because of commute problems. Positive spacing would be a whole lot cheaper than hundreds of more reserves.
Maybe this retirement boom will become pronounced enough that some majors finally start doing this. I think it would be a great way to attract good pilots and it would save the company money by not having to cover hundreds or thousands of instances of commuters not being able to make it.
In the next few years, airlines are gonna have to start being creative (I hope.) Let's hope this is one way they do it. I really think it would be a "win" for everyone!