I also had one of the best and one of the worst experiences jumpseating on AA out of London. Coach was full, but first was wide-open. The gate agent told me she couldn't print me a boarding pass for first, the computer would not let her. But, she could sign me up for the cockpit j/s and we'd go talk to the Captain. (Long before 09/11). So, down we went. The Captain told me that sorry, it was too long of a flight to have a cockpit jumpseater. The gate agent reminded him that there were a dozen f/c seats open, but he still said no way. It was beyond his control. So, back up we went, and the agent told me to wait until it was gone and she would do everything in her power to find me a seat in the back (by upgrading someone, or a no show, etc). A few minutes before the door closed, she got a call to bring me back down and put me in the cockpit jumpseat.
When we got back down there, the Captain told me to take a seat on the jumpseat, sit there, keep my mouth shut, and don't even think about eating or sleeping. He also told me to thank the F/O who "demanded" that he give me a ride home.
After he went back to sleep, the IRO and the F/O told me the whole story, and apparently they threatened to turn him into both my j/s coordinator and their own as well as to the chief pilot if he left me (because I was a regional guy at the time, even though we were on the AA Int'l list). As it turns out, he commuted weekly on us, and they scared the crap out of him.
The score there was 1 prick of a Captain and 5 for the helpful people (the agent, the other pilots, and the F/A's). Ironically, about 5 months later, he needed a ride with me, in the cockpit, on the last chance he had to get to work. I considered leaving him there, but decided no good could come of that. So, he made it to work. But, I will never forget his face as we taxied out and I turned around and thanked him for the ride home from London. I'm pretty sure he never considered leaving a j/s behind again...
