It seems like some of you assume you have the RIGHT to jumpseat. Its not a right, its a PRIVILEGE. And if an individual Capt doesn't want you on the jumpseat for whatever reason, you're out of luck.
Just say thank you and head for the next flight to where ever you're going.
That's somewhat true, but not reportedly the case here. If a CA doesn't want you on the jumpseat for whatever reason, a pilot requesting a jumpseat is out of luck like Fubi says. And there certainly may be valid reasons not to have a jumpseater on the flightdeck with you. Riding in the back is different, althouth I suppose you might make a case that you don't want a jumpseater in the back for some other reason, even if it's personal. However, that's generally gonna' be a weaker argument, when your buds wonder why you're making their airline look bad.
In any case, that's not what happened here. If the CA didn't want them (there was two of them) to jumpseat up front
or in the back, he could have said so. He apparently didn't have a reason to say no, and in fact, granted the request, and let them ride. But he then took the opportunity to lambast them about his displeasure with how the SLI went. First in person face to face, and then over the PA when they were leaving. While he
does have the right to decide whether to grant or not grant the jumpseat privilege, he does NOT have the right to use that opportunity to verbally berate another pilot. I'm pretty sure that's not in either the written
or unwritten rulebooks. That's unprofessional and makes ALL of us in the industry look small and petty.
Hopefully, the pilot involved has cooled off and thought better about the situation. I believe the two JS coordinators are talking about this and cooler heads will prevail. An isolated situation (as it's been pointed out--there've been hotheads on both sides) shouldn't, and ultimately
won't, define this "marriage."
Bubba
