I was jumpseating on a 737 a week or two ago. The airline doesn't matter; it's one of the big ten.

I was wearing my uniform pants and shoes, and had a polo shirt on tucked in. I clearly met the dress code for an offline jumpseater and sloppiness was not an issue.

I introduced myself to the lead flight attendant, captain and the first officer. I asked the captain if they would be able to accomodate me as jumpseater on this flight; I handed him my ID which says CREW and has my employee number on it, and along with that I presented my pilot certificate, medical, and boarding pass which said CASS APPROVED on it.

He turned to me (and was not joking) and said "Are you a pilot?"

I thought he was kidding. I said, yes, I fly for _____ out of ___ airport (which was the airport we were at).

He replied, "How do I know you're a pilot?"

Then I realized this guy was actually asking me if I was a pilot...struggling to quickly think of a polite response, I simply said "I don't know." (I wanted to say: you're holding my crew ID, CASS approved boarding pass, pilot certificate, and medical!)

He finished with, "You're in civilian clothes."

I was thinking of what to say next to keep this wonderful conversation going but the F/O turned around and said "so...what are you going to [destination] for? How long are you staying for?" I answered him and he said "great, glad to have you aboard!" and I said thanks for the ride and the captain sort of gave some nod of approval or something.



Since the captain was not joking at all asking me those questions, I'd like to know: what was I supposed to wear? Jumpseating in civilian clothes is something that is completely acceptable at that airline, and I've had their pilots on my jumpseat in civilian clothes, and vice versa. Or was this guy just acting like a goofball.