kronan

We also have Capt's who live overseas and commute.

Flew with one great Capt who lived in India and had some issues with the odd Capt

Fedex999999

It isn't always 777 captains. Was denied a domestic Jumpseat on an 11 once.... Crew rest plane. Didn't want anyone up front I guess.

Tuck

Seriously dude? Only at Fedex is a jumpseat seen as this huge power play by the captains. At any other airline there really isn't a question - the Captains readily give up the seats to any pilots - commuters, vacationers, whatever. For some reason at Fedex, the Captains make it a big deal. I'm not talking about the mechanics who want access to the cockpit, or the strange Fedex employee who wants to go around the world with no bags - I'm talking about just another fellow pilot who wants a ride. Here at Fedex I've seen captains murmur many times things like "can't believe what that guy is wearing to jumpseat", "jeez, he should have met us at the desk", and other similar things. It's just thought of as a common courtesy in most of the industry except for here. Now that's not the norm but it's happened enough times where it's left an impression on me - no, I'm not a commuter and I've never had any personal problems - these are actual Captains I've flown with that have done and said these things.

busdriver12

I agree. I can't imagine turning down another FedEx pilot for a jumpseat unless the guy was drunk or on drugs (never seen that happen). I'm certainly not going to turn someone down because I want more room in the cockpit. I really don't like having jumpseaters in the cockpit, but if it's required to give someone a ride, no problem. I can't imagine turning down a commuter guy or gal either, I really like it when they jumpseat on us, as an opportunity to finally return the favor.

As far as the guy who said he was out $1,800, there can be many reasons. Whether he was at an FDA, whether his bank was too low to pay for a ticket, whether he was just jumpseating to go on vacation somewhere, he was out a lot of money because someone wanted a little extra room in the cockpit (the stated reason). Leaving someone in a foreign country stranded, because you want some extra space. Is this what we fought to keep Captain's authority for? Ugh.

BlackKnight

Now that's funny.

Albief15

Asked to go to Paris once from MEM, where I would then be the RFO for the same crew. Capt said "no"....he had given permission to one JS and didn't want another.

Flew with a very gracious 777 crew on same date/city pair and enjoyed the ride.

It was the captain's call, and his right. That said...he is retired, and I don't miss him, nor does anyone I've ever given the name.

If you need a ride around Asia on my flights...welcome aboard. Sorry about the ****ter door, but I'll take as a many as want to go along...

trashhauler

Unfortunately there are quite a few pilots that are retired that I won't miss Albie. Was Dick C. the Capt that denied you the J/S? That guy lived in his own private Idaho! I"m a 777 Capt and took 4 J/S from CGN to MEM a few month back. I will never leave a crew member behind if I have anything to say about it, probably even if he's a dick

MaydayMark

My personal policy was always to take as many jumpseaters as we could legally allow. I was a commuter and always appreciated others taking me.

That said, I usually found it more comfortable for the jumpseaters and the crew if we filled up the jumpseats in the back first. If one of those looking for a ride was a young enthusiastic Commuter Airline pilot who wanted to ride up front he was welcome (they sort of reminded me of myself when I was their age).

I only had one bad experience with a jumpseater in the cockpit. Upon arrival in MEM the j/s stood up and said, "I'm a Check Airman and I want to debrief this flight." (He should have said that when he got ON the airplane ... A-HOLE!*?

azoomietheist

Had a FedEx Pro Instructor miss a ground school once because the Captain denied him an open jumpseat.

The twist is that they were brothers. Family issues. Captain said it'd **** him off too much knowing his estranged brother was on the airplane.

I bet Thanksgiving was interestng that year.

MX727

Kind of sad that we can't take a retired FedEx pilot but we get these minimally vetted folks that often dress and smell like the homeless in the cockpit. That doesn't take into account the arrogance factor because they are in charge of a multi-million dollar animal. New for them, my aluminum horse is a wee bit more valuable...