I'm not a commuter anymore but to weight in on this issue... I would NEVER EVER EVER count on a pinnacle jumpseat unless you just LIKE being left behind. I don't know if it's the pilots (I really hope it isn't) but when I was commuting, if they were close to full... you were screwed. I used to fly the 200 for a different company and barring a really long leg or alternate fuel we ALWAYS got the jumpseaters on, actually sometimes even fuel numbers were reworked to make it possible. It's definately a balance issue, anyone who's worked a balance problem on a 200 pretty much knows the nose heavy issue.... at my previous company we had 50 lb sandbags or comat... I hear at comair they went one further and put a 200 lb plate in the back of all their 200's either way... if it says operated by 9E... I hope you have a backup (No offense to 9E pilots... just the truth of the matter)