Just wondering if this could be legit or just gate agents not wanting to do any work.

Was trying to get home, full flight, open cockpit JS. Gate to gate, a 90 minute trip, wouldn't expect a heavy fuel load since both airports had good weather - but I'm not familiar with the Q or Horizon. Gate agent said we're full, not taking anyone in the JS for weight and balance. We (Skywest Captain was also trying to help me get on since he was there waiting as well) simply asked them to ask the captain if he knew there was a pilot trying to JS. They said they'd ask.

Some supervisor, Andrew, showed up and said the same W&B issue, we again asked if they could simply talk to the captain. "No, the plane is already late... W&B... we're not going to ask..."

Is this standard not to simply speak to the captain? Legit excuse for W&B Or a bunch of BS?

Not to get this mixed up, if they had spoken to the captain and he said "sorry, I wish we could, but we can't take you" then no problem. But refusing to even ask, that's the main issue.

It's rare, but it does happen. Some of the most common reasons include:

(1) Performance problems at departure airport (i.e., Sun Valley @ 84 degrees F and a 10-kt tailwind).

(2) Performance concerns at the destination airport. I earned the "tool of the month" award when I had to boot three non-revs off of a flight from Los Angeles to Mammoth. One of the non-revs was a disabled vet. :-(

(3) Short, heavy leg. Your takeoff weight is probably burn limited (the Q400 can take off at 65,200 lbs, but only if you burn off 3,200 lbs of fuel before you land). YVR-SEA and SEA-PDX are frequently burn limited. We were exactly one pound under our maximum on a recent SEA-PDX flight, but got both jumpseaters on board.

(4) Longer flights were you have to take lots of gas, because of weather. You said that this was not a factor here. However, it's possible that Central Load Planning and Dispatch made the decision to tanker fuel.

Hope that helps.

Where were you heading? I dont know if the smoke up here was causing issues.

Seattle to Boise

I wouldnt think that route would have been an issue. But as was mentioned CLP may have been tankering.

Sorry you had issues. Most people here will work to get all the nonrevs on,

Always ask the captain. The gate agent at certain airlines will receive a preliminary max payload count (Ex. 50 people, 60 bags) and the lesser-minded ones will deny you gate access solely based on that. But that count doesn't consider kids, fuel inaccuracies, or change in flight plan. I had one agent try to take my jumper off the flight deck. She told ME I was too heavy, even though I was staring at the numbers telling me we were good to go. Don't let gate agents attempt to w&b.

I can actually see that being a problem... Boise's had some reduced visibility lately due to smoke. Also, summer is "runway construction season" around here - there are numerous runway closures and navaid outages. Sorry you got left, though.

The SKYW guy may have been the problem, not often but it happens.

These occurrences have been increasing lately, and it's usually for the performance issues Dash descibed above..one thing we can do is get small items off the A La Carts (like backpacks) and take them out of the pit and into the main cabin..I've been able to get people on that way.

The bigger problem is the gate agents not wanting to make the effort to notify captains, and being parked miles away from the terminal so captains aren't making the trek to get inside and see who's standing around.

It's also worth noting that Alaska management has deemed Horizon captains as PIC only when the plane is in the air. They continually stress through notices and disciplinary action that we have no say as to what goes on when we are on the ground (e.g. when it's ok to board, when the APU can be ran, how much fuel you can take etc.) It's truly embarrassing to work here sometimes.

This is frustrating. Last time I checked, the gate agents dont do weight and balance. To the guy who got bumped, put in a word with your union jumpseat committee.

As for being PIC on the ground at QX, I disagree with what snackysmores says. If the CA puts a stop to boarding, you may get asked why at a later date but thats it.
I start my APU at my leisure (every leg), and have never heard a peep from anyone.
If I want fuel, the aircraft doesnt move till i get it... sometimes being a CA requires you to not let people railroad you bro.