Great points Encore, except that never happens. It is kind of an convoluted extrapolation of what might happen if you were a version of Paranoid Rob Lowe. Still, the point is - you don't have to take the jumpseat if you don't want to.

Sorry you had a bad experience commuting. That is shocking. I've taken the jumpseat to get non-revs and rev's on. No big deal. The js wasn't booked. There was no jump seater standing by. I waited to the end to take the seat and the agent knew the deal. I won't bump a jump seater, but I will sit in the jumpseat if it is appropriate.

Good luck on denying the jumpseat as a Captain. That will not work out like you imagine it.

Hmm, what if the DH pilot taking the jumpseat gets a flight attendant on who is trying to commute home? (been there and done that). Ignorant?

I bet you will be a real prince to fly with once you are the captain.

Hmmm. My CA and I took the cockpit and one FA Jumpseat on a DTW-BOS DH one day to help a BOS gate agent, her husband and son get on the flight. We told the DTW gate agent our willingness, checked the listings (no jumpers listed or checked in)and waited until the last minute for any other jumpers. No one showed and we helped get a coworker and her family home.

Apparently my captain and I must really be awful people.:rolleyes:

"Unfortunately, I am not a captain. I have been left behind and it ****es me off."


Huh? You move up when your seniority allows. Sounds like a load of sour grapes... and a sour attitude.

No, Shiz, you're just ignorant.

You know, Hockeypilot, you've done a decent job in this discussion making people think about the effects of giving up an assigned PS seat for a JS, which is fine. Now that you've crossed into lecturing, and insulting your audience, and since you're showing zero signs of reading other people's viewpoints, you're flirting with TOTD status.

There are cases where people have taken a JS to help out, for the benefit of everyone involved. You can't seem to acknowledge that, since you're so focused on being upset at being left behind on another occasion.

There are lots of people, like Scambo, who have taken the intiative, over several decades, to help nonrevving pilots, or their families, or some other employee, or their family, onboard. In those instances, if you do things right, you can help a fellow employee. Assuming you can do this in a manner that doesn't screw an actual JS rider, helping others is what it's all about.

For my part, I'll take your comments under advisement, but if the agent is clearly onboard, and no JS is getting hurt, I'll keep an open mind about the smartest way to get the maximum number of people onboard.

BTW, if you are non-revving you must use the GOE shuttle bus and lot. Or pay to park. Spot club is $5/day for Delta employees.

You CANNOT ride the landside or terminal A-F busses if you are going to get on an airplane as a non-rev. Yes, once again, that includes landside. Don't believe me? Ask your chief pilot you big cheapskate!

My lecturing won't change anything. Nothing will change. I guarantee you I as well as other jumpseaters will miss flights because of deadheading crewmembers. I have missed jumpseats because I wasn't listed and the agent didn't have time to deal with me with no jumpseater listed. I commute from a city with hourly flights so I am always trying to catch the earlier flight (walking up last minute). I have been left at the gate as a non-rev with open seats to get an on-time departure. I've learned the company doesn't care about non-revs, some gate agents don't care about non-revs, and if you are wronged, no one does anything about it. As pilots, we are not allowed to delay flights to get people on. If you do and the agent complains, you will be told to not do that again. I don't know anyone who did it again after the first time so I am not sure what would happen. Our union has been trying to negotiate better deadhead seat assinmnents for us since I have been here. Why are they wasting negotiating capital on this if everyone would rather just sit in the jumpseat? This issue has been beat to death. You guys keep stepping on fellow pilots, and I'll keep accepting that I will miss the earlier flight every once in awhile. FWIW, this is a pretty small issue in the grand scheme of things. I'm probably not nearly as passionate about this issue as I am coming off as. Sorry for that.

I agree that there is a lot of abuse by gate agents, and it probably takes a watchful Captain, a good agent, and the right set of circumstances before anyone should even consider giving up their PS seat. I guess guys shouldn't be the [deleted] while trying to be a hero, but all things being equal, it would nice to be the hero to some non-rev if no pilot is harmed during the evolution.

I wonder if the solution to this is not for the PS pilot to have a discussion with the Captain? It's his JS. If a PS pilot on the way in, mentioned to the Captain that they can sit there instead, then the Captain can try to make it work if they are so inclined, and they have a better shot at getting cooperation from the agent.

Paranoid? I had a jumpseater that was just violated in a very similar situation. The crew missed an altitude and all 3 were violated, including the jumpseater. Be careful out there.