Timbo , 02-10-2014 03:39 AM
Runs with scissors
That's the way it has always been at Delta. Until the kids are 23, they can pass ride alone with the same priority as the employee. Time of check in has no bearing on priority however. Strictly date of hire, unless it's a through flight at an intermediate stop, the non-rev onboard already has priority over anyone trying to get on at the intermediate stop.
About 25 years ago my wife was trying to get from BOS to FLL to go to work, she was a Delta F/A at the time. She missed out on the last seat out of BOS, which was taken by the 17yr. old son of a more senior pilot, who was on his way to Spring Break. We didn't have access to our own jumpseats back then, front or back. She did not make it to work.
Now that we do have jumpseat access, I almost always book the jumpseat vs. trying to get a seat in the back, unless it's a very light load, but I haven't seen much of that in years. I'd rather sit up front and talk to pilots vs. being squished into a center seat in the back...unless it's a 737, that jumpseat is torture!
Do you still have to pay extra to get into an empty Business Class seat when non-reving at AA?