Odds of getting left behind while jumpseating?

belgiumania

belgiumania

Well-Known Member
Hi guys, I'm looking to Jumpseat home this weekend for the first time. I'm a little nervous about getting left behind on the way back though. All the flights I'm looking to take have at least a few open cabin seats as of today, but I understand that could easily change.

I have a few backup flights planned out but I would like to know how often do you get bumped from flights when you list for the JS?

For the record I'm planning to fly MEM-BLI via LAS and will be aiming for flights on Delta, Alaska and Allegiant.
 
Depends if you're flying on your own carrier or on someone else. I have been bumped numerous times in the past but I almost always get where I am wanting to go the same day. Always good to have backup flights planned though. Normally I have been treated quite well by Southwest when flying other airlines. Also if you are in the CASS system you should be able to ride up front if the flight is full. I would say I get on my first choice of flight 75% or more of the time but I don't jumpseat that often.
 
You never really know...in my experience the odds of getting left behind are low..maybe 10%, when I was commuting this spring to ORD. But it's completely out of your control especially if you're commuting on another carrier. Being able to sit up front is a big big big part of getting where you want to go though, many of my jumpseating was in the cockpit. Just about anyone can bump you from a cabin seat, obviously only other pilots can bump you from the cockpit.

Its a good idea to look up, and print out and carry, the jumpseat agreement between your airline and the airline you're jumpseating on. A few pilots are bad apples and will lie, cheat, and steal to get the jumpseat if they sense the gate agent isn't sure of the rules and don't like the thought of missing that flight. And many pilots working the flights in my experience are unable to correctly quote more obscure jumpseat priorities and cant be relied on to enforce the rules.

If it's really important to you consider using your flight benefits to list non-rev for the flight too, even if it costs you $15 or whatever. You'll instantly be above anyone on the jumpseat list for a cabin seat.
 
Just make sure you always have backups. I've been bumped out of the cockpit plenty of times. Also, do your research on the airline beforehand as each one is a little different regarding listing or not beforehand, earliest time you can sign up, etc...

Continental, Southwest, and Alaska have been my personal favorites over the years.

Just beware of the "second" jumpseat on the 737. I slid in behind a 6'5" captain once. Couldn't feel my legs when we finally blocked in a few hours later, but hey I made it.
 
From 4 years of weekly jumpseating I was only bumped twice because of an FAA inspector.

This was on the carrier I worked for so in theory it may not be accurate.

I will say for the several times that I used other airlines, I always got on, and some times even in first class.

Like previously stated - always have a back-up plan. You can use passrider.com to see how many flights/day are available between city pairs.
 
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