while I wish this were true, ive had a UAL jumpseater do this to me ( He was PS on the next flight, not the one he took the JS on, which is not quite as bad) but he did it at D-5

Total D**k move. Sorry that happened to you. Perhaps next time if you get your “flt deck access” card from the agent as is required, you can tell he Captain the situation. Again, sometimes the Cap just needs to know what’s going on. If he isn’t aware of your presence, I can see how some douche would try to ace you out of the Jumpseat. Again, really poor form, and I apologize on behalf of United pilots. Sounds like scab behavior.

i was introducing myself to the captain in the flight deck when this happened. anyway no worries, been treated great everytime ive hitched a ride on you guys and I hope Ive made my UAL jumpseaters feel the same way. Cheers!

I’ve done this. Had a PS seat home from training but got out early and went down to the earlier flight’s gate. Commuter from one of our UAX carriers was at the podium when the agent asked if I wanted the jumpseat. I asked if it was going to go out completely full. She responded yes. I said I’d wait for the next flight as the UAX pilot was already planning to take that jumpseat. Agent went into a priority speech that I interrupted thanking her but explaining that I had a seat on the next flight due to training etc and that this jumpseat should be “his”. UAX pilot thanked me and seemed confused but I explained that if I really needed that seat I should have listed online earlier and if it was an emergency I would have taken it but that we try not to do this to each other, especially when we have a PS seat on a flight leaving within two hours. I think he got it and hope he does the same when he (if already not already) gets here.

Well done. THIS is the type of mentoring we should be doing every day. It’s the culture I was raised with at United, and it’s up to each of us to continue to pass it to the next generation.

I had a very similar experience last night on DL. DTW was an absolute mess. Lots of irops got put on the flight, which pushed after a 3 hour delay (plus 2 more hours to deice...ugh). Anyway there were only three nonrevs listed. Me, another skywest pilot, and mainline pilot. It came down to a full flight, only the two cockpit jumpseats available, and I wasn't going to get home after a grueling day of winter delays including an extension. It was a mainline flight, and the DL captain saw me talking with the gate agent and came up to the podium. He knew that they other skywest pilot had listed for the jumpseat and could guess that I wasn't going to get on. So he talked to the gate agent and said "look if it comes down to it, put me in the FA jumpseat so those two can get the cockpit." I was so grateful. Once the flight finally pushed, the other skywest pilot decided to stay and wait for their spouse on another flight, and two seats opened up for me and the mainline guy.

I was just super grateful to get on the flight home, and was so grateful that he offered to do whatever he could to get us (including being my wingman at the podium with gate agents who were particularly snappy after an all-around awful day). Thank you to him, and everyone else who has helped us get on flights.

Google or the crew lounge has a lot of ORD options, tons off the train. ORD is a good place for crashpads. If you can't find one DM me, I was at one for a year and it wasn't bad at all. Cumberland stop has a ton and I liked that Area.

How difficult would a DCA/IAD to LGA commute be at SKW? Would a crashpad be necessary? I'm aware of the debate of whether LGA will be closing or not, but am wondering if this would be a viable option.
Thanks in advance!

In terms of commutes that’s a super easy one. There’s a flight almost every hour on Delta and American between DCA and LGA.

As a Skywest employee, is there anyway to see aircraft loads when planning commuting, without having to go to the airport?

I have a buddy that works for United and has an app that shows him what the aircraft loads look like, do we have access to anything like that?