No body is going to argue that leaving a paying passenger behind is unfortunate, but preventing a commuting pilot the jumpseat to get to or from work, which is the main reason for having reciprocal agreements with other carriers is absurd! I know you guys act like you got it all figured out, but why is it no other airline I have ever conmmuted on besides Frontier has left me behind due to positive space pilots?

And as far as your argument about no commuters on those flights, that may be the case then. What happens to a commuters when its 10 prior to departure when they come running up to the gate and you and your FO are snug in the jumpseats? Even if you cared he got home or to work, do you think the gate agent would actually tell you guys aboutabout him and rework the seating issues? I'm not trying to get in a ****ing match, I just think your attitudes to commuting pilots is depressing.

 

That is strange? I welcome all pilots as long as they have an agreement with us are polite and dressed properly(business casual). This is the problem hear on this website. Maybe and I mean maybe a few pilots do these types of things. You cannot stereotype a whole pilot group. You will always have your 1-2% percenters from any airline.
At F9 we are very accommodating and jumpseater friendly. If this is a rampant problem then go to your jumpseat committee to solve the problem.

The jumpseat should never be used as a political tool!
You can where the IBT lanyard all you want. In the end it is just a lanyard.

 

Here is how other carriers feel about deadheaders on the jumpseat:
http://www.airlinepilotforums.com/ca...-jumpseat.html

While I hate the fact that we sometimes have to leave passengers behind, I absolutely loath the idea of leaving a commuting pilot behind.

The easier it is for crew scheduling and gate agents to get away with this, the more often it will happen.

 

I would never leave a jumpseater behind to get another passenger on the airplane. The jumpseat is for jumpseaters, period!

 

Thank you Bolo! Your perspective of what a jumpseat is for is spot on.

 

You have no idea what my attitude towards commuting pilots is. I haven't addressed that. I have to hand it to you, you guys can move the goal posts and build straw men like nobody's business.

Are you honestly saying that we should leave passengers behind EVERY single opportunity that we get, just in case someone comes running up 10 minutes prior to departure? I can count on both hands how many times I've had that happen in 15 years in this business.

I'll second that.

 

I'm not the one bumping the passenger. This is where our views differentiate. You feel like you are personally responsible. I know that it is not my fault and not my problem that the passenger does not have a seat. As far as I'm concerned, I'm a revenue passenger when on company business. I personally think you're a moron for taking the jumpseat when you have a positive space seat. You are giving up your seat for no extra money. Like it or not, the world runs on money. You are being taken advantage of and don't even realize it. You're a real company man. You would probably voluntarily take a pay cut just because the company asked.

 

What I have seen happen more than once is that gate agents will count on the jumpseat being used by deadheading crew and then turn away jumpseaters without the crew knowing about it. This, among other reasons, is why most carriers are almost militant about deadheaders not being on the jumpseat.

 

Deadhead crewmembers should sit in the cabin as far as I'm concerned. However, if everyone has been accommodated and taking a jumpseat would allow a buddy pass or non-jumpseat capable nonrev to get on, I'll definitely do it if there's no one trying to get the actual jumpseat.

 

I have been commuting for about sixteen years now, using many different airlines including quite a few that are no longer in business. I even had a Delta Capt. buy me a pass in order to get me on. This was when they first allowed jumpseating even by their own.

The thing we have to remember here is that the jumpseat belongs to the company. It has been Frontiers position in the past that deadheading crew members will occupy the jumpseats in order to accommodate as many revenue passengers as possible. Frontier is not the first nor the last airline to take this position.

That being said, FAPA ( Which is alive, well and recognized by the Department of Transportation, Labor, and the IRS among others. ) worked with Frontier mid contract to loosen those rules, in part due to the longer and more frequent deadheads.

As has been said there is always going to be the 1% that go against grain. Many of them I call friends, and each has a different reason. I have got my own stories of being snubbed from the RAH side, but I still do all I can to get every jumpseater aboard regardless of who they work for. I have stepped on the toes of gate agents, asked if crew members would move to allow someone on, and rode on the flight attendant jumpseat, all to get jumpseaters on board.

With regard to the lanyard you can wear it if you want to, you will still get a welcome on board my flight. However if it was me asking for a ride I would elect to reduce exposure to something the crew might find offensive.