Airtran jumpseating!!!

[Ty Webb]

That's great, but until the gate monkeys get the word, and the Delta AND DCI crews make sure that jumpseaters aren't left behind, there's a lot of room for improvement all over ATL.

I actually tried to jumpseat on ASA the other day, trying to get home an hour early, and the idiot behind the podium didn't understand the "new" system . . . never "activated" me as a standby, and I never got called for the flight. I really didn't care, since I would rather sit in Business class on my own airline's flight an hour later, but I thought I'd give it a whirl on ASA, and regardless of how many jumpseaters they take on paper, that RJ left, with me and a SWA pilot standing there.

But go ahead, complain about our policy . . . I'm all ears.


.

 

[400ADude]

That's great, but until the gate monkeys get the word, and the Delta AND DCI crews make sure that jumpseaters aren't left behind, there's a lot of room for improvement all over ATL.

I actually tried to jumpseat on ASA the other day, trying to get home an hour early, and the idiot behind the podium didn't understand the "new" system . . . never "activated" me as a standby, and I never got called for the flight. I really didn't care, since I would rather sit in Business class on my own airline's flight an hour later, but I thought I'd give it a whirl on ASA, and regardless of how many jumpseaters they take on paper, that RJ left, with me and a SWA pilot standing there.

But go ahead, complain about our policy . . . I'm all ears.


.

OK, you're policy is garbage.

 

[Wesb737fo]

400Adude,

OK, so the policy is garbage. I don't commute, but tell me what Delta would say to me if the available jumpseat was taken and I wanted to get a ride?

 

[Kharma Police]

OK, you're policy is garbage.

If you are who you say you are, than you shouldn't have a problem with our policy because you can't jumpseat on us in the first place.

 

[USARET]

This horse is dead! If you don't get the policy your too stupid to utilize it anyway. Lets move on to more important matters. Speaking of which... Hey Ty, it's about time for a Flora Bama run isn't it?

 

[elag777]

I got your sarcasm, somewhat lame.

Since when does the capt have authority over only one seat?

OK untwist your "y" fronts get off your high horse and chill out a bit. The point was I was twisting a old argument over who the owns the jumpseat, Capt or Company, and the fact that FL has only one. When the door is open it is a different matter. It is like a certain airline 's Capt trying to remove an ID 90 rider in uniform thinking he was jumpseating all because of who he worked for. Not up to him in that instance. Anyhoo all of this is getting to complicated, so if you didn't get it my bad, I am sure all appreciate FL's system when faced with the last flight out.
:beer:

 

[Lear70]

Where have you been, down in Margaritaville smokin the company weed with Ty? Delta extended us the courtesy of multiple jumpseat last month. Yeah thats right multiple "jumpseat" , not 1st jumpseater rides free and everyone after that gets a free walk up pass. Multiple "jumpseat".

Tell that to every DAL gate agent in the system.

It's been 3 weeks since that memo came out, the gate agents in BNA haven't heard anything about it and the gate agents in ATL keep deciding that we don't have ANY jumpseat agreement with DAL and that we can only write ID90 / ID75 passes through our company (even presented with the COMPANY letter stating we no longer have an ID90/75 pass agreement with DAL), as recently as last week on the entire B concourse.

Yes, I called the J/S committee.

It would be nice to have an official letter on DAL letterhead stating the unlimited jumpseat policy to drop off at the station manager's office in BNA and carry when trying to get out of ATL...

Elag, no big deal. I understood what you were trying to say, and I'm glad you appreciate it as we appreciate rides on other airlines when we can get them.

In this case, however, if someone were to actually approach the flight crew and start bashing them for having to "pay for the jumpseat", I wouldn't blame the Captain one bit if he pulled him to the side, explained that it was still a courtesy, then kick him off the aircraft if he continued in his or her verbal abuse.

Pass riding is just as much a privilege as jumpseating; it does NOT entitle someone to give the crew a rash of crap for ANYTHING. It DOES entitle you to board the aircraft, sit there, and STFU, saying please and thank you for your soda and pretzels. You are NOT a full-fare passenger in this case and MOST crews wouldn't tolerate verbal abuse from a REVENUE passenger, much less a standby pass-rider. How far would that person be from going from verbal abuse to physical abuse? Not far, according to the research they present in the CRM classes.

Bottom line: CA's discretion rules. Period.

 

[Lowrider717]

I didn't read it as the jumper verbally abusing the Captain.

I read it as the Captain exersising his overblown ego and sense of self importance that he would rather pound his chest and say "I am Capt. Hear me Roar" than promote a sense of goodwill amongst us mere mortals.

 

[Lear70]

Having said that, if the jumpseat has been given out, and you bought a pass, don't get on my plane stating that you "paid to jumpseat", or I will return you whence you came from, allow you to collect your $25 back and you can wait for the next flight, or go try your luck over at Big D.

Maybe it's just a point of view, but if someone got on the aircraft and "STATED" to me that they just had to "pay to jumpseat", I'd take that as someone jumping our case over it.

If, however, you got on the aircraft, didn't understand the policy, and POLITELY ASKED why you had to, it would be an entire different story.

It's all in presentation and, in my opinion, Ty put it out there as someone starting a rash of crap over it once they got on board with a gate-purchased pass.

 

[instructordude]

One word: Don't commute!

 

[Lowrider717]

One word: Don't commute!

Um, that's two words...

Two words: Don't post.

 

[-9Capt]

One word: Don't commute!

You try living in the worlds largest ghetto.

 

[jc3]

You try living in the worlds largest ghetto.

I think Memphis takes that title!!

 

[instructordude]

You try living in the worlds largest ghetto.

Uh, you are right there. What can you get, living wise, an hour from the airport? Serioulsly, I'd like the good, bad and the ugly. Say someone is 23-30 makes 45-60K. Good living or hell? What about married? I'm not going to Atlanta but just curious.

 

[ATLplt]

You try living in the worlds largest ghetto.

Yea, life is tough in the ghettos of Peachtree City, Alpharetta, and the infamous Virginia Highlands/Druid Hills areas. Cue music..."It's a hard knock life"...

 

[The_Russian]

Hey, Russian-

When I want any crap outta you, I'll squeeze your neck.

A guy who works at a place where every FO pays $19,000. for the "privilege" of playing airline pilot needs to clean up his own stable before talking about someone else's.

WTFO? I was just sayin' hey. I wasn't trying to offend you. We work very closely with AirTran and we have a good relationship.

Please, don't lecture me on what you think PFT is. I know my place and business. I will never be the first to point finger purely out of respect for others. Not for someone's path through the industry.

 

[ATLDRVR]

If I came to ATL and all I saw was College Park, East Point, or Riverdale then I would assume Atlanta was a sh*t city. You guys who have the crash pads on Virginia Ave. need to get out more. Atlanta is like any other large city, it has the good areas and the bad areas. There are some nice areas close to the city and some nice areas a short drive into the suburbs. Every city has its bad areas, even small towns, so to judge a city based on that narrow minded observation is stupid.

 

[Lear70]

My crashpad is in Marietta. It's an "OK" area, but I certainly wouldn't live here.

I lived for a short time in Athens, that's about as close to Atlanta as I would care to live, maybe up north by the lake, or way out west, but all those areas are right AT an hour outside of the city. Newnan is 1/2 an hour from the airport, but still 45+ from downtown and an hour from Buckhead (one of the few desirable areas to want to get to for night life).

ATL and MEM (and to some extent L.A.) are the only 2 cities I've ever seen where you have to get AT LEAST 45 minutes to an HOUR outside of to really *want* to live there.

I'll take Nashville every day of the week. 15 minutes from downtown in a nice, safe, suburban area on the lake at about 2/3 the price of comparable ATL property. Recently voted #4 party city in the U.S. (according to Maxim, anyway). The 4 hour drive is worth it...

 

[-9Capt]

Yea, life is tough in the ghettos of Peachtree City,

Funny you mention PTC, I lived there for 4 years before moving out of state. Nice town, I had a golf cart and everything.

Eventually you'll want to go downtown to the Fox theater or to Philips to a concert.

The politicians in ATL certainly look out for their own
.

 

[Citrus531]

If I came to ATL and all I saw was College Park, East Point, or Riverdale then I would assume Atlanta was a sh*t city. You guys who have the crash pads on Virginia Ave. need to get out more. Atlanta is like any other large city, it has the good areas and the bad areas. There are some nice areas close to the city and some nice areas a short drive into the suburbs. Every city has its bad areas, even small towns, so to judge a city based on that narrow minded observation is stupid.

I agree 100%. I've grown up here and there are a lot of nice areas around ATL...I'm in the Vinings area which is 20 min north of the airport and it's great...safe, clean, somewhat expensive, etc...Anything within a couple miles of the airport is ghetto indeed.

And with the title of this being AirTran jumpseat, I can say as a former AirTran gate agent I maybe had 6 or 7 times in which I had 2 other airline jumpseaters on my flight in 15 months.....the few that paid the 25 bucks didn't give a crap and the others I just put on board....with quicks turns I didn't have time to run the card, list them, etc...

 

[Old School]

I tried to jumpseat to work today on Airtran but didnt get on because there is no CASS. The pilots apologized for leaving me behind but said that no CASS causes some no-shows for Air Tran too. It sounds like a win-win for Air Tran to implement CASS for all concerned....old scool

 

[ATLplt]

I'm in the Vinings area which is 20 min north of the airport and it's great...safe, clean, somewhat expensive, etc

I lived there for about a year and am looking to return after two years out of state. It's nice to know that if the connector is jammed you have the option to take the West loop to the parking lot.

The politicians in ATL certainly look out for their own
.

Agreed.

 

[DonVerita]

Everyone take a breather for a moment.

A few points need to be made.

1. The AirTran pilot group is painfully aware of the black cloud that hangs over our heads everyday due to the b.s. $25 charge. It WILL GET HANDLED. We all want this to go away tomarrow as it is 100% despicable and embarrassing. Who is to blame? Greedy bonus-grubbing management!

2. To any AirTran pilots who say they're not "willing to give anything up for getting rid of this charge", I say...GROW THE F*** UP! You may not have need of the J/S while living in your 4000 sq. ft. house in Newnan, but the 65% of us who commute absolutely are willing to fight for this. So since you are outnumbered, you are outvoted.

3. Unlimited reciprocal jumpseats are the moral and ethical thing to do given the post 9/11 upheavel of base closures, downgrades, and general chaos/realignment in the industry. The least management could do is make somebody's life a bit less stressful by offering a way to get to/from work easier. Thank you Delta for stepping up. You have our gratitude. You have my promise to get unlimited J/S for the Delta pilots and every other pilot group that has made this a front-burner issue.

 

[-9Capt]

3. Unlimited reciprocal jumpseats are the moral and ethical thing to do given the post 9/11 upheavel of base closures, downgrades, and general chaos/realignment in the industry. .

Our management has proven time and again that they are neither moral nor ethical. Most of you guys weren't around for the post 9/11 concessions we agreed to under the threat of bogus furloughs. We gave concessions, they got bonuses, that still pisses me off.

Want unlimited jumpseats? Try calling out when you can't get to work. You'll see managements mentality change pretty f'in quick when it effects the bottom line. But that would take unity and solidarity, something we sorely lack...

 

[Lowrider717]

Our management has proven time and again that they are neither moral nor ethical. Most of you guys weren't around for the post 9/11 concessions we agreed to under the threat of bogus furloughs. We gave concessions, they got bonuses, that still pisses me off.

Want unlimited jumpseats? Try calling out when you can't get to work. You'll see managements mentality change pretty f'in quick when it effects the bottom line. But that would take unity and solidarity, something we sorely lack...

Damn, I can't disagree with anything in Donny's post. I guess theres always a first time. Right on there KITTYCat!

GET RID OF THE $25 JUMPSEAT FEE! (sorry, couldn't resist)

If you were runnin for something tomorrow, I'd be punchin the paper next to your name.

 

[Caveman]

Me and a fellow B6 pilot jumpseated out of MCO on AirTran a few months back. We both were given 1st class seats, weren't charged a dime and the crew treated us extremely well. Thanks very much guys/gals, we really appreciated the ride home.

 

[Ty Webb]

Everyone take a breather for a moment.

To any AirTran pilots who say they're not "willing to give anything up for getting rid of this charge", I say...GROW THE F*** UP! You may not have need of the J/S while living in your 4000 sq. ft. house in Newnan, but the 65% of us who commute absolutely are willing to fight for this. So since you are outnumbered, you are outvoted.

Maybe it's you who needs to take a little bitty chill pill . . . .

I commute, as do most AirTran pilots. AirTran already offers the same as most airlines- an OAL jumpseater carried free for every installed jumpseat.

Am I willing to give up anything in our next contract to get unlimited jumpseats? Well, I was, until I saw all the whining and crying on this board from ungrateful schmucks who got to the gate too late to get the jumpseat, were offered a walk-up pass for $25. and then said they "had to pay for the jumpseat".

I am no longer willing to give up anything for unlimited jumpseats. Sorry.

Management claims they made $2 or $3 million last year on the walk-up pass. Divide that $3 million by 1500 pilots, and you come up with $2,000. per year per pilot. Well, that $2,000. would buy a lot of $25. walk-up passes- 80 of them, to be exact, so why don't you put your money where your mouth is, and start buying all those OAL guys their walk-up passes?

Makes about as much sense as the rest of your post. :laugh:

 

[Lear70]

I stil don't understand why it's a bargaining chip at all?

With the numbers of commuters here, it SHOULD be seen (both by management as well as pilots) as an affective tool to properly staff the airline on any given day.

Am I missing something? This isn't my first rodeo, and I've seen some stupid jumpseat crap over at big red, but this was never a big negotiating point. It works in management's favor either way, so why are WE making it so important?

Edit: PS Caveman, come on down anytime! Get you a bidness class seat, stash the uniform bling, and get your drink on and your snack on. We 'bout to be up and about this biatch.

 

[newnan]

I agree with Ty, I don't know why I'd want to give anything up personally for the unlimited JS issue. I plan on commuting in the future and can't figure out why if I couldn't get on an offline carriers jumpseat because we don't have a recip., I could get sick pay for a whole 4 day instead of just losing pay for a round trip I missed. Let MGMT take it in the shorts (it's their policy). Simple pleasures are all we have left in this industry and screwing scheduling is one of them.

 

[-9Capt]

I Let MGMT take it in the shorts (it's their policy). .

That's what I'm sayin'.