Man I'd hate to see you handle the trauma when FA hands you coffee that doesn't have enough room for milk.

I stop by the cockpit to say hi every time I'm asking for a ride, offline or online. If I paid for the seat, but I'm commuting in uniform, or if I'm DHing, I still say hi and introduce myself so the crew doesn't have to guess why I'm hiding in the back avoiding contact. I likely don't know the PIC that day and what his/her expectations are, and it's the unassuming, polite thing to do. I figure it's better to check in with a captain that doesn't expect it than to not check in with a captain who does.

What expectations might a fellow Spirit captain have for you as a DH? I didn’t see anything in the FOM about this nor have I met a captain who had instructions for the deadheader(s).

The crux of the issue is that every captain is different. Some don’t care, look at you like you have 3 heads wondering why you’re saying hi, some greatly appreciate it when you say hi and i’ve been specifically thanked for doing so, some want to see documents, and some might kick you off if you neglect to say hi at all with a seat in the back.

commuters have to be chameleons in this respect, and frankly i’d rather slightly annoy a captain for saying hi when I don’t need to by being overly polite than get kicked off by a grumpy captain who feels sleighted when you don’t say hi at all.

commuters just can’t win

So I listed on zed as pilot commuting on American OAL. It had been a while since I’d last done so, and because I wasn’t asking for the jumpseat I didn’t check in, but the captain called me up to the flight deck and asked to see my documents. would you guys normally check in here?

Yes, check in, that’s the option that is free and you’re specifically taking advantage of the Jumpseat agreement even though the gate agent gives you a seat in the back.

Now, if I were the captain, I wouldn’t care if you didn’t check in, But as a previous poster said you have to be a chameleon when you commute, it’s better to check in and get an odd look then to get pulled aside and lectured for not checking in.

If you’re riding using a JS agreement you have to check in. Why we have to check in even though we have seat in the back is a grey area because at that point to the crew we’re no different than someone that’s on standby that doesn’t need to check in. But usually all agreements want you to ask for permission since you are riding free. By the way, please don’t be like the OP, not to mention their DHer didn’t do anything wrong. I always appreciate company pilots letting me know they’re back there.

The reason we have to check in is simply due to keeping control of the JS in the CA's hands, not the companies. There really is no practical reason anymore for it.

Correct. If you get a seat via a Jumpseat listing, you’re riding with all the same jumpseat rules. You must have your licence and medical (supposed to be checked), no alcohol consumption, even if wearing civilian clothes and not going to work. You’re a guest of the Captain, and he/she decides if you can be there, regardless of whether or not the agent has available seats in the back. Yes, it’s not as simple as it was when it was limited to the number of cockpit jumpseats, but busting a guys nads for saying hi is a jerk move.

This is to all the blue pilots out there: pass riding guide explicitly states you are not to wear your ID when traveling in the cabin. Don't worry, you will still get the can.

What works best is just let the lead FA know if you want to see the non revs or not. If you don't need to see any of them, your FA will kindly redirect them towards the cabin. They may have confused picachou faces on while they make their way to their seats, but oh well.