Originally Posted by
Timbo
Or....you could show some initiative and tell the Captain you're going out front for a minute to see if they got everyone on.
Look, I know things get real busy just before pushback, so I always talked to the gate agents before I got on the jet, and I would ask them at that time, "Are we going to be full?" And, "Are the non-revs going to get on?" And, "We got any jumpseaters?" If it looked like we were going to be full I would ask them to please get everyone on and if there's going to be a delay, "Put it on me."
Never had a problem with my FO leaving to go check, last minute, either.
Some of you guys make it a lot harder than it has to be!
This is the way. Most times when I ask about jumpseaters they turn to the computer and start banging away because they haven't checked yet. This gets the ball rolling and gets them logged in so the next question about non-revs is easily viewed on the screen. It takes literally one time with a friendly (usually out staion) gate agent that isn't in a hurry to show you where to look when they pull it up. Then, every future greeting you can be armed with the knowledge before they even speak. I usually end with "if you have late runners, pax or JS just get them on, I'll take the delay and make up the time airborne."