Jumpseat/free flying priveleges?

Metalmike

Metalmike

Well-Known Member
I've read that dispatchers get just about the same priveleges as pilots do, so do you basically fly with any domestic airline for free, assuming there are available seats on the flight? If I was a dispatcher with an airline could I technically fly to Europe or anywhere in the world for that matter, for free, so long as it's with a domestic airline a la American, Delta, United, etc.? I'm really curious how exactly this all works.
 
Jumpseating is a nice privilege, although personally I would rather just non-rev and not have to ask the captain about hitching a ride with his flight. As an airline employee you can get passes on your airline along with others fora fee. Jumpseating does have an advantage over non-revving in that it is free. Most of the time there is no problem with us doing it, but a lot of gate agents and some pilots are not aware that offline dispatchers can jumpseat on their airline (even though dispatchers are authorized to be in CASS, which is an identity verification system that is used for jumpseating, primarily used by pilots.) This being said, Southwest is usually a good choice to jumpseat on even if you don't work for them (although I have had a few agents and crew members question my ability to jumpseat with them as well over the years.) I am not sure what the regs are on jumpseating internationally these days, you do still have to pay departure taxes I think. Also, foreign gate agents might be difficult to get past if they have never heard of it and I'd hate to be stuck overseas with no options for getting back other than jumpseating. I have done it once going to the UK many years ago but I'm sure things have changed since then. Also, I have found that (probably unfairly) working for a legacy carrier now, I rarely have any problems when I need to jumpseat since everyone knows the airline I work for. That being said, since I live in a hub city and my airline has a large national and international network, I don't need to jumpseat very often either, other than for my annual required cockpit observation time....which I don't mind doing, since the reg that requires us to do that is what makes jumpseating at other times possible for us as a group.
 
From what I've read I imagine it varies between airlines, but what is the 'fee' for non-revving on an airline other than your own?
 
I actually have fewer problems with gate agents than pilots. Most pilots are cool with jumpseaters but some dont understand when I check in with them before taking a seat in the back. I think most assume I am just a regular non rev. Lately when a flight is full, I always have issues with crews thinking dispatch cant jumpseat and even many gate agents know the pilots own company policy better than they do! Sometimes, I wonder if pilots ever read the jumpseat section of the FOM. I mean it couldnt be clearer in the FOMs and even the part the says dispatchers authorized by CASS seems to throw off some pilots.

But once you sort out the red tape, jumpseating is awesome. When other non revs are left behind, you can get on. You can get on OAL flights when that airline is leaving paying pax and non revs behind. On US Airways IIRC, they include jumpseaters in the BOW so they can be kicking paying pax off for W/B and you can be getting on.

We can also get rides on UPS and Fedex. If you have the time or are desperate to get back for work and dont care about sleep, it can be a life saver. I actually find the cargo airlines easier to ride on than passenger airlines. Ive never had a UPS crew digging through manuals, calling CPs and debating on the legality of taking a jumpseater. Once they see the jumpseat pass, they assume the company is OK with it so he must be good to ride.

Most other airline workers are pretty jealous when they found out that dispatch gets to jumpseat. I know co-workers that nearly caused a riot when they jumpseated offline and got onto flights where non revs of that airline had been waiting for days to get out.

CASS does not quite let you ride offline. I know AA, AE, Pinnacle, Delta, Skywest, and UPS are big on reciprocal jumpseat agreements. CASS simply authorizes you to ride in the cockpit. The pilot unions wrote us into their jumpseat agreements. That is why we can both ride the cockpit and sit in cabin jumpseats offline. An unlimited jumpseat means your airline's pilot union negotiated for pilots and dispatchers that both airlines will take as many jumpseaters as there are open cabin seats. Some agreements are limited agreements whereby the airline will only take a certain amount of jumpseaters usually the amount of jumpseats installed in the aircraft. AA still allows only one jumpseater from any airline that has a limited agreement. If two pilots from a limited agreement airline shows up, only one can go regardless of seats in the back. You can tell your airlines agreement by your standby code. D6L is limited and D6U is unlimited.

I can guess why airlines would put us into CASS. But not sure why the pilot union would stand for us possibly bumping a pilot commuting. On most airlines, the company policy says that online dispatchers come before any other airlines pilots. Some airlines, jumpseating is first come, first served. This means that a dispatcher could bump a commuting pilot simply by showing up first. I know dispatchers are a small group but I wonder if we may lose unlimited jumpseats once some dispatcher bumps the wrong pilot that is commuting.
 
It's for the same reason that online non revs bump offline non revs. Protect your own first. In my experience most OALs after protecting their own pilots then dispatchers will protect regional affiliate pilots then dispatchers. Then OAL pilots then OAL dispatchers.
 
Here is the skinny with international jumpseating: you cannot sit in the actual jumpseat on international flights for an OAL carrier. That's not airline specific; that's a "blue-shirt" (TSA) regulation. Because UPS & FedEx don't have secured flight-decks, that is why OAL jumpseaters (PILOTS & DXERS) can't hop internationally on them. IIRC, cargo carriers like Atlas & Kalitta have secured flight decks, and cabin area, so they can take OAL jumpseaters. HOWEVER, if you hop on DL, UA, US, AA, etc., and there is an empty seat in the cabin, you can list for jumpseat, verify your CASS credentials, & fly away. I have done it. Note: we have had several employees at my current company who have done their FAMs to LEJ/EDDP and then taken the train to FRA and "jumped" on DL back to ATL. Better than a "high-chair" for 10+ hrs!
 
Anyone know how to establish a reciprocal jumpseat agreement? I work on the side for a growing 135 operator, and this is one tool we would like to use to expand.
 
contact each airline's jumpseat coordinator and follow the steps prescribed for their individual airline. some are easier to to reciprocate with than others
 
deltabobo said:
Here is the skinny with international jumpseating: you cannot sit in the actual jumpseat on international flights for an OAL carrier. That's not airline specific; that's a "blue-shirt" (TSA) regulation. Because UPS & FedEx don't have secured flight-decks, that is why OAL jumpseaters (PILOTS & DXERS) can't hop internationally on them. IIRC, cargo carriers like Atlas & Kalitta have secured flight decks, and cabin area, so they can take OAL jumpseaters. HOWEVER, if you hop on DL, UA, US, AA, etc., and there is an empty seat in the cabin, you can list for jumpseat, verify your CASS credentials, & fly away. I have done it. Note: we have had several employees at my current company who have done their FAMs to LEJ/EDDP and then taken the train to FRA and "jumped" on DL back to ATL. Better than a "high-chair" for 10+ hrs!
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Not true. Atlas does not have a secure flight deck and the tsa removed that rule a while ago. It's ups and fedex's rules that prevent it.
 
deltabobo said:
Leipzig: upon advice from my counsel, I exercise my 5th Amendment rights I cannot and legally testify on any action, attempt, or any physical movement that occurred those trips.
Click to expand...

Literally, you can't. To do so requires that you have recollection of said events. Photographic evidence suggests a state in which awareness of such actions were, umm, compromised.
 
pljenkins said:
Literally, you can't. To do so requires that you have recollection of said events. Photographic evidence suggests a state in which awareness of such actions were, umm, compromised.
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frabz-oh-yeah-thats-gonna-leave-a-mark-db22a2.jpg
 
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