International JS
 

Question for y’all. Do you guys usually upgrade jumpseaters to business when it’s available on international flights? I’ve almost always gotten upgraded on other airlines, but was denied one on United recently (by both agent and crew), so I didn’t know if maybe the policies were different. Looking at flying overseas soon and debating which flight to take for the best odds for a comfortable ride. Thanks!

I don’t pass ride or jumps seat all that much, drive to work.

I few months ago I listed J S international, Central America. The plane had room, business & coach, 5 hour flight. I was at the gate, expecting a business seat. The agent said, hey, you’ve been here long enough to fly free, but you have to list, I can’t just roll you from JS to business.

I did a quick dive into the iPad, he gave me a business seat.

Now I know some agents have a different way to do things. I got the feeling if I hadn’t listed for business, some junior pass rider would of sniped me for the seat.

It costs money to non-rev in business, it’s not a JS listing. So no, they would t have “sniped” it, they would have been awarded it in priority order.

Yeah, I am offline, so obviously not eligible for the gate agent to seat in coach. Just wondering if the crew usually upgrades offline JS or if we’re usually left back in coach

If you were listing for the JS, then it sounds like you’re not an employee here, so yes a junior UAL pass rider would always take precedence and unless you’re on a zed business fare would not not automatically be awarded business.

If you are not a United pilot, you can't ride the jumpseat or be in the cockpit internationally anyhow. Don't know if an offline JSer can even be given a seat in back internationally if listed for the JS, since a JSer is technically a crew member who has cockpit access. And access to the cockpit is the sticking point for international jumpseating, not a CA's decision on whether to give you a nice seat. Even if you could successfully list JS and get aboard without the agent bothering on a run through CASS, you'd be the absolute back of the line for a good seat. You'll need to shell out for a ZED ticket to improve your odds a bit.

I’ve JS internationally on ual quite a few times as an offline pilot it can definitely be done, you just cannot sit in the flight deck.

May also depend who you work for I think some companies aren’t reciprocal for business

Same here. I JS internationally all the time offline, and 99% of the time if there’s an open premium seat I’ll be upgraded to it by the flight crew (the gate agents are not allowed to seat offline JS in business on essentially any airline). My recent UA flight was the first time I was denied an open seat by the crew, so I wondered if there was a policy or something prohibiting it or if it was just bad luck. Always grateful for the ride, but with how often we are stuck in airplanes, the comfy seats are always hugely appreciated.

I see a lot of people really struggle with reading comprehension.
Short version, I believe it depends on the crew.
Longer version:
I JS intl on UA as OAL , and unfortunately the crew did not upgrade me although there were 14 open seats in biz and I was the only nonrev. I was in a way surprised, but obv still thankful for the ride (the pilots didn't seem to care). One FA at boarding almost hinted at me sitting up front, but my guess is that the purser told him they were not allowed. Even the gate agent made it sound like they could potentially offer me a seat up front - she said to "flirt" with them (She said she couldn't do it herself at the gate unfortunately). I recommend bringing treats, that might give you a better chance of getting the upgrade! I stupidly forgot. They did however hook me up with a couple amenity kits and a breakfast sandwich!