Originally Posted by
Justdoinmyjob
It specifically states in the FOM to not do it. Not sure DALPA would be on any kind of solid ground to advocate willful disregard of the FOM. The fact is that if you are assigned a seat in the back, as far as the company and FAA is concerned, you are now considered a non rev passenger, and all rules pertaining to jump seating no longer apply. Think of it as an ID0 ticket. Just like all the OAL fight attendants that "Jumpseat" on us. You ever see any of them stop by the front office?
In the end though, it doesn't really matter. Over half the guys don't have a clue what it actually says in the FOM anyway. How many know that OAL dispatchers are allowed up front as long as they are in CASS? Or that even if you have a Delta ID, you are still required to show your certificate and medical?
The FOM does not state "do not do it." It states that there is "no need to." There is a difference. Although the person who writes the FOM does not find it necessary there are good reasons to do so. Recently I received a "stay at gate for performance" pre push message. After we finally received our WDR I noticed a jumpsseater in the numbers. I was unaware we had one. I called the flight attendant up and she tracked him down. When he came up to the cockpit he apologized and said the agent told him to take seat 15B and there was no need to check in with me. The agent did so but also issued him the 1P ticket. I explained to him the for performance reasons he would have to sit in the jumpseat. The FOM assumes everyone knows what they are doing. They do not. It also assumes that an offline jumps eater knows the difference between having a seat in the back with a 1P ticket and actually having a seat in the back. Most do not. Recently there has been many medical events involving pilots at the controls. It is nice to know where extras are just in case. Nothing like making a PA "is there a pilot on board?"