Nonrev behavior
 

Just wanted to get some opinions from you fine folks around these forums.

If you had a Nonrev passenger that was being rude to the gate agent, boarded your plane, and proceeded to be rude to your FAs... How far would you let it go before you reported them?

This is a privilege that most (if not all) of us have to give to our direct family so they can travel for free... It is NOT a right.

Any thoughts??

Immediate action is required. There is no room for indecency and it is an intolerable behavior. kick that sucker off the plane. :mad:

I would only a kick a nonrev off if they met the same threshold of behavior as a regular pax (drunk, threatening, non-cooperative, profanity).

But I would have a discussion with them to let them know the behavior is not appreciated, and if I thought there was an attitude problem at that point I would report it through channels.

Everybody has an occasional off day, you never know what has already transpired.

I actually might have a little more sympathy for nonrev.

I'd approach this with the philosophy of "if we don't take care of each other, who else will?"

It's difficult to think that a nonrev employee doesn't know the expected etiquette, but like Rick says, everyone can have a bad day. A bad day could have terminal results for a fellow employee if left in the hands of management. However, I wouldn't hesitate to have a private conversation with them to let them know that they're blowing it.

Appreciate the responses guys!

Kind of the same take I had on it.

You never know what they are going through or what preceeded that action. Not that one should act unprofessionally.
In any event, I would definitely talk to the passenger before taking any action to remove them; give them a chance to calm down and apologize.
My mother went almost postal at a gate in BWI one evening... she just needed a moment to calm down - I would probably afford passengers a little more leeway because of that. That said, some things are nitollerable... profanity, abuse etc.

Agree with Rick. When my husband I had non-rev benefits, we put up with some pretty crappy treatment by an FA once; we never said a word; assumed the girl was having a bad day, was mistreated by another passenter or something. Benefits were something we were eternally grateful for.

I had some non rev (buddy passes) that treating my FA like a piece of meat. She was a cute but quiet girl but not entirely passive. Luckily these passengers were sitting in the last row of the cabin. When my FA called up to me crying saying that she didn't feel comfortable going to the back of the cabin, I asked her to do one thing for me. She went to the back, called me on the interphone, and handed one of them the phone. I told them that if they even looked at my FA one more time I was going to land and the nearest airport, drop them off, and keep going. I explained that I would make sure they were responsible for the fuel bill.

She had no more problems.

X

Hahaha ... even if that is a bunch of BS ... still rather funny ;) and I applaud your creative thinking!

I almost removed a pax one time from my flight (heard her being very rude to my FA) ... when my FA came up to the front I asked her if she wanted the pax removed. She very calmly looked back at her, then back at me and said, "nah, I can take her".

I almost died laughing ... and so did the other pax in the front rows

Having grown up in a family of airline employees, I spent a good portion of my life nonreving. I would never DREAM of being beligerent or disrespectful to anyone that had a hand in getting me a seat.

If I were the PIC I would most definately pull the individual aside and have a chat with them, let them know that not only is that behavior completely out of line, but the final authority rests with the Captain, and you won't put up with it either.

Gotta agree. Having done a lot of nonrev flights this year I was amazed how the majority of gate agents are downright rude and abnoxious to nonrevs. We were told from our airline that we had to be courteous and professional at all times. In my experience all the pilots did just that. Many many times when I was out of uniform the way gate agents treated us was unbelievable. Gotta say never had any problems with the FA's.

I agree with the last two post. A majority of gate agents abuse there power especially towards non revs or jumpseaters. My last trip home jumpseating a plane left with two empty seats and empty jumpseat, because two gate agents didn't know how to do their job, and wouldn't take time to try and help. Even after the captain of the flight told them to. Also how do say that non rev travel is a privelege when most of us pay something to do it. It was advertised as a benefit.

Oh man-gate agents were the WORST. I used to hate it when you'd approach them with a question and they wouldn't acknowledge that you were standing there, just kept looking down at their computer screen. I realize their jobs are fast-paced and stressful, but I simple, "give me 5 minutes and I'll help you" is better than just flat ignoring you.

I was embarrassed to work for my airline the other day in Chicago. Was getting a flight home on my airline and another jumpseater showed up from another carrier. The agent flat out ignored him for a good 20 min. Finally he processed him very rudly and was also very rude to me.

I have to agree that my experience with gate agents has been mostly unpleasant. There are very few with which I have had great experiences with. Those are the ones that make a world of a difference. You can tell the difference in customer satisfaction between both types. Worst thing that a gate agent could do to you is not acknowledge your presence.

Always love jumpseating on Virgin America, they make me feel like I am VIP not some Nonrev. It makes me want to pay to fly on them if needed or direct friends/family to try them out.

Thanks for all the responses guys/gals!

I was trying to give my fiance some advice on how to handle a rude nonrev. The problem is that if he CA doesn't give a dang about how the passengers are in the back there's not a whole lot that can be done without actually reporting them. That was the case in the situation that brought this post to light.

Anywho ... thanks again!! The responses I see here very closely resemble the way I would go about handling a situation if one were to arise.

Cheers fellas!

Yep, I've has the same experience on VA. I recommend them to everybody now. Excellent customer service across the board!

I disagree. I have been jumpseating for eons and the majority of gate agents have been just the opposite, they do their jobs and they're polite about it. Some have even bent over backwards to get me on the airplane. Sure, there are some bad apples, but those are the exception.

I am not saying that you do or don't, but some pilots I've seen approach a gate agent with a chip on their shoulder. Perhaps these very pilots that aren't satisfied with the majority of gate agents probably have issues with interacting with the majority :rolleyes: of cashiers, waiters, etc.