airscout

When I flew for PenAir they allowed beards there. I used to commute in and out of BOS on Delta. Four or five times in the space of a couple months I had the same Delta captain who hated beards. I'd always had a seat in the passenger cabin, but he would always make a point of telling me that I would not be allowed to jumpseat up front with a beard because of the whole O2 mask thing (beards causing bad O2 seals was disproven by our own military years ago btw). I'd politely say I understood and road in back. Then one day he had the gate agent tell me that I could not ride in the back either. I ended up missing two other flights that I could have made in another terminal had he not waited until the last possible second to have the agent give me the boot. (Real class Delta). After that, I only non-revved on American or United.

I wonder if Delta captains kick their JV partner pilots with beards off their aircraft as well or if they just thought they could mess with PenAir with no repercussions?

badflaps

I'll pretty much bet on him being fNE.

airscout

Yes, I think so. Prior to the PenAir BOS gig, I jumpseated many times on Delta in and out of MSP and DTW. Most of those guys were former Northwest and Mesaba. Never had an issue and some were the nicest guys I've ever shared a cockpit with. In and out of BOS was a whole different story though. Not sure if it was because I wasn't a Delta regional then, if it was a BOS/non-former NWA thing, or if the beard just angered Delta captains in general. Maybe all three?

captjns

Why would they object to a JV on their jet. Virgin Atlantic is UK carrrier... in other words not a 121 carrier.... can’t ride the jump seat... thus your posit is academic.

sailingfun

Jumpseaters are prohibited from beards in the Delta FOM. Exceptions are FAA and secret service. Why put the CA on the spot and possibly facing action from the company if he does not enforce the rules?
Same thing with showing up in blue jeans. I prefer to wear them but always have a pair of regular pants in my bag in case I need a JS. Don’t be the tool begging for a ride and asking for rules to get bent.

airscout

Obviously you didn't read my original post. I wasn't miffed about not being able to sit on the flight deck. I understood that it was in Delta's FOM. I think it's a dumb rule but I wouldn't hold it against the captain for enforcing it. This particular captain would not allow me to sit in the passenger cabin either as a non-rev. Full uniform... hat, tie, everything, because I had a beard.

airscout

Just to clarify- I did not have a beard at other airlines I worked for other than PenAir. So when I was talking about better experiences with old Northwest become Delta guys based out of MSP or DTW that was more of a just in general observation replying to the guy who said my BOS experience could be because of different nicety levels between the rest of the country and the northeast. In other words, maybe not totally a beard thing but also BOS based Delta crew thing.

For most of my career I lived in base so I am certainly no jumpseating/non-reving expert so I'll leave it to others to flesh out the culture of Delta and the northeast compared to other airlines/places. But it my limited commuting (especially to the northeast) experience I thought that being kicked out of the passenger cabin for sporting a beard was quite odd.

airscout

Or, maybe the beard issue is just another example of Delta's intransigence? Maybe they can start their own version of Joon or Swoop that allows beards and stuff like that to appeal to younger more hip people? (Tongue in cheek there. I think there's some merit to some of those ideas but I don't think anyone has implemented those ideas correctly yet. I think the oldsters at Delta would be the last ones to make that credible.)

I think Delta is what it is and probably will be the last to change.

PotatoChip

Bar none, my worst experiences jumpseating have been with Delta captains.
(And to be clear, L-DAL pilots, not L-NWA).

WickedSmaht

And obviously you don't understand how we define "jumpseater". Did you ride on a zed? If not and you are OA then the only way, absent being a full fare pax, to ride on our metal is to be....a...come on say it with me now....jumpseater. "But I was in the cabin!!". You're a jumpseater and you are expected to be ready to act as a crew member should the situation warrant, ergo..no beard. Now this Capt may have been a tool belt, no doubt but painting an entire group with the same brush is more than lame. Sorry you had a crappy experience, you're welcome to try again.