My last experience on the jumpseat went like this.......I listed on a noon flight out of XXXX airport. When I arrived at the gate to get my JS pass, I noticed that there was a company aircraft waiting for pushback (not the aircraft I was supposed to JS on). As I walked up to the window to look out, the Captain noticed me standing at the gate. He motioned at me as if to ask if I wanted on the aircraft. I shook my head "no" and gave a thank you wave to him, since the next flight was due to arrive in 15 minutes. They already had the door closed and ACARS had started the block time, so I didn't want to hose the crew out of $. What a great crew!!!!

As it turned out, the next flight was later than expected and completely full. My worst fear came true. The aircraft was weight restricted and the gate agent wouldn't let me go down and talk to the Captain. Unfortunately, my attempts to get the attention of the Captain from the gate were unsuccesful.

I ended up driving 3 hours to get to my base. I had missed the first round-trip, got a nasty-gram from the company, and lost pay.