razorblade

I fly for an ALPA carrier in Canada, and we have a reciprocal jumpseat agreement with United.

Now I understand that to list for a flight, I have to show up at the departure airport and list myself at the ticket or check-in counter. Which works great at most places..

I'm planning to take UA from EWR-DEL and then fly the same route back as well.
However, in India, you can't enter the airport premises without a valid ticket in hand - which brings me to question: how do I list myself for the return flight if I can't even get to the check-in/ ticket counters?

Thanks!

jackcarls0n

You can only jumpseat out of USA. To enter back USA you cannot jumpseat is what i was told. .Need to non rev or get an ID90. but they are ticket counters at delhi airport where you can enter without a ticket just besides the terminal entrance. not sure if united has a counter there or not.

ShyGuy

I know out of Sydney Australia you can list as OMC, pay taxes, and then get a seat in the back if one available. Don't say jumpseat, you're better off saying OMC (Observer Member Crew).


United Airlines offers Observer Member of the Crew (OMC) jumpseating to eligible pilots and dispatchers of carriers that maintain reciprocal jumpseat agreements with United Airlines. Pilots and dispatchers contracted to operate within the United Express route system are granted a ‘K’ boarding priority while OAL/offline pilots are granted an ‘L’ boarding priority. Boarding will be first come first serve within the respective boarding category. UA now permits unlimited jumpseating on all domestic and international flights.

DOMESTIC: Pre-listing for OMC through UA’s reservation system is not required. OMC requests are processed by the agent at the departing gate (Domestic includes AK, HI and all U.S. Territories.) Per TSA and FAA requirements, offline pilots will initially be processed for a cabin seat. If the cabin seating is filled, the pilot will be processed for the flight deck jumpseat. Passports are no longer required for CASS verification.

INTERNATIONAL: Pre-listing for OMC through UA’s reservation system is not required. For US outbound flights, the check in process is conducted at the departure gate. For international inbound flights to the US, check in must be completed at the international station ticket counter. The pilot must pay all applicable departure fees and taxes for the specific flight. All offline international jumpseat travel is restricted to Cabin Seating only. In the event that UA imposes temporary international NRSA travel embargos, cabin seat jumpseats are not bound by these restrictions.

Jumpseaters seated in the cabin are not permitted to consume alcohol. Uniform or business casual attire is required. When boarding begins, please proceed to the cockpit and introduce yourself to the Captain, regardless of seat assignment. Pilots will be required to present a valid company ID, airmen and current medical certificates. The jumpseat access is the sole discretion of the Captain.

myoface

Good luck getting anything done in Delhi that is out of the ordinary. You are probably better off driving to Europe. Faster anyway.

captjns

Ticketing is accomplished outside of the terminal. They should be able to generate a paper ticket for you. Take that document to the check in counter to get a boarding pass. I recommend you be in uniform getting your paper ticket, boarding pass, going through immigration and security. You can use the business class lane going through security, and go to the head of the line going through security.

razorblade

The UA website does mention an "office" way on the other side of the city. Maybe that's their ticketing office, because I'm sure there's nothing at the airport that's outside the building which the public can access without a paper ticket.

Thanks for the replies!

captjns

Call UAL directly, and ask them what if a passenger could buy a ticket at the airport.

XForces

I jumpseated on UAL from EWR-DEL and back when I was with Eagle, and i did it with my wife and two kids. It wasn't much of a hassle, just follow a few basic pointers.

For your return trip, have a ZED ticket. You might not have to use it, but it is a good idea to have it. In my case the UAL flight was booked solid, and I tried to jump around to Air India and Jet Airways with my ZED to see if I could have gotten a ride. It would have worked, except there were not enough seat for the whole family, and I didn't want to split up.

Which brings me to my second tip, check your loads carefully. Even the 777s tend to be weight restricted due to the fuel loads, and those flight fill up quickly. Have a backup plan.

Go in uniform! You might feel out of place in the middle of India walking around it you uniform, but trust me, it will pass. The good part is your uniform will get you all the attention and special treatment that you can dream of. I was allowed access to areas I should not have even been allow to go because I was in uniform. You will have ABSOLUTELY not issue getting in from the curbside to the terminal with or without a ticket if you are in uniform (but I would still recommend having a ZED ticket)

Get to the ticket counter and tell them that you wish to jumpseat back to EWR. Contrary to popular belieif, they are aware of jumpseating regs and proceedures. They will have you stand by until they are certain that you will able to board. Once they are certain, they will issue a boarding pass so you can clear security. This can get tight! You might have to make a real hussle to get through security and to the gate before boarding closes, so be spry.

They did not take my ZED ticket, and I refunded it when I got back home. They did take the ZEDs for my family, as expected.

Some goodies for the crew wouldn't hurt either, but that is SOP.

Good luck. PM me ifmyoumhave more specific questions.

razorblade

Thanks XForces. I'm planning to go again in Nov, so we'll see how it goes - I didn't realise that I could list myself as an "OMC" at the check-in counter inside the airport. Getting in usually easy with the ZED anyway (that's what I did this time.)

Did you take the expedited Customs/ Immigration and Secruity lines as well when in uniform?

Raptor

I have operated and pax'd out of DEL several times over the past year. Each and every single time in uniform I was required to show a General Declaration or ticket/document to pass into the terminal--whether operating or paxing. Out of uniform, I've always had to show something: I've shown a mobile phone's screen of my reservation (no boarding pass), shown a boarding pass, and I've also just shown a printout of my reservation.

India as many people know follows a lot of bureaucratic procedures and the guard was solely interested in seeing on whatever I presented that it had my name and some sort of info that showed I was flying out of Delhi. Paperwork makes India run and the guard will get in trouble if he doesn't check something as there are others watching him.

I no longer wear my uniform while paxing out as I found that just having my ID on and saying "crewmember as passenger" seemed to be a code word that is well understood in India and gets me the same treatment and benefits as if I were wearing my uniform. Before I learned those words, I would tell them I was deadheading, paxing, jumpseating and get confused stares, but "crewmember as passenger" has always gotten nods and smiles. I pass through crew/staff security lines and thru crew lines at immigration (when they're open) with my ID on in "normal clothes".

While I have not tried this myself out of Delhi (I'm confident it will work though), I have used it at other airports outside the USA where they have security checks to enter the terminal. Before I leave the USA I go to the airline ticket counter and ask to make a non-rev listing (or some airlines call it a meal listing) for my return flight. I mention that I'd like to do that to satisfy TSA requirements that I'm (and/or my family are) on the passenger list for the TSA security processing 24 hours prior to that departure back home. Then ask for a printout of that listing...it will have names, dates, airline, times, airport city pairs, etc on it and will satisfy anyone to enter the terminal.

Alternatively, if it's just me jump seating back home, then I will go ahead and find a ticket counter in the USA and ask to pay the taxes and fees for my return flight. I try to do this at a special services desk at a major airport as those agents are generally experienced and have done it before. If you're at a smaller airport at the ticketing portion of a check-in counter, I've had more junior people unable to find out the keystrokes to make that happen for me, but I just try later while connecting. That taxes and fee ticket will also give me a listing and give me all the documentation I need to go straight to the check-in counter to process at the foreign airport. I have prepaid taxes and fees for my return jump seat on Delta, US Airways, and United (no experience on AA or others yet, but I would think it would be the same). I've also prepaid them for multiple airlines when I'm returning out of a busy location so I can go airline gate "shopping" once I'm through security to find that open cabin seat back home (without having to come back out of security to go to the ticket counter and thus lose out on a flight on a different airline leaving within the half hour). Then, when you get home, you can refund the unused taxes and fees tickets with no problem.

YMMV, but in DEL I would try to get something on paper to make the bureaucracy work and not chance the uniform and talking your way in. BTW, as far as I can remember all the ticket counters in DEL are inside the terminal.

If anyone has any different techniques or experiences I'd like to hear them as jump seating is a great benefit to us all and I'd like to keep up to date on what's happening out there.