SD3FR8DOG

Everyone would be well served in this industry if we chilled out a bit.

I always check in, but am surprised at how many times i've been told by Captains (from Airtran to Delta) that if you have a seat in the back you don't need to check in. Seems odd to me but like everything in life, your mileage may vary....

So lets everyone chill out and be more agitated by the smurf stealing your flashlight at security than a poor guy sitting airport reserve for 21 bucks an hour who is trying to get home to see his woman, kids or pet water dragon for a couple days a week.

PA31

I'm a regional guy and every time I'm jumpseating I ask the Captain for a ride regardless of my seat assignment. If I'm travelling non-rev in uniform I won't check in unless I see the captain at the cockpit door or I'm on a company flight.

Never had a problem in 5 years.

Jughead

I can't speak for any airlines other than DL, but I find that hard to believe. A jumpseater is a jumpseater, and should stick their head in the door and say hello. Might even be nice to make a half-hearted effort to produce an ID and medical/certificate. The whole jumpseat etiquette seems much looser than it used to be. I don't commute, so maybe I'm old-school, but, "hey, I'm on your jumpseat" really isn't a good start.

No, I'm not on a power kick - I'm happy to be able to offer somebody a free ride. I just appreciate the 2 seconds of effort it takes to be gracious.

acl65pilot

Always ask. Heck, if I am DHing I let the guys I know I am back there too. It is just a level of professionalism that we need to maintain.

Mason32

I always ask... with doc's at the ready if requested... what frosts my *** if that the FA's never check in... if we are accepting them as part of the crew, shouldn't I know they are there?

DALMD88FO

At Delta the jumpseater shows up on the awabs paperwork (our numbers) sometimes we have a no tolerance awabs which means the numbers have to be exact so if you don't check in and it shows a jumpseater then we have to start looking at why our paperwork is wrong.

Dirtdiver

Don't know about the other carriers, but at mine, the license and medical only need to be checked by the capt if the JSer is actually occupying the cockpit JS.

Perhaps some have confused my waive off of a document check to mean I didn't need to see them at all?

iceman49

Thought the tolerance function was gone?

pokey9554

I will start by saying I always check in with the captain regardless if I'm jumpseating, non-reving, helping my wife get on the plane, etc. It is a professional courtesy.

What is unprofessional, in my opinion, is when a captain or FO says, "it's my airplane", "it's my jumpseat", "I'm giving you a free ride".

You are not the owner of the airplane or the airline. You may have the final authority, but it is not your property.

weasil

I have had many, many mainline pilots over the years act annoyed that I was in the flight deck asking for a ride, when I had a seat in the back. One guy actually said "Why are you talking to me!" and it wasn't a question but an instruction to leave him alone.

How do you know that guy was a jumpseater anyway, perhaps he was traveling as a non-rev. Did you think to ask him? I was on a deadhead once in first class on United, when the Captain actually came back and berated me in front of the other passengers for not asking permission to ride as a jumpseater. I explained to him that I was traveling on a must-ride basis and that my company had purchased this ticket. It never even occurred to him that this was a possibility - he just assumed I was free loading.

Next time you have a pilot in uniform in the back who didn't stop by to ask permission to jumpseat, consider the possibility that perhaps he's not jumpseating!