Jumpseating Question

[want2fly]

When you jumpseat do you normally carry on your rollerboard and your flight case or do you end up having to check one or both? It seems like everytime I get on a plane the overhead bins are already just about full but I never see pilots at baggage claim either.

 

[SkyBoy1981]

I haven't jumpseated on anything big, but on the RJ I just gate check them.

 

[EagleRJ]

Sometimes if there's no room for it in the cockpit, the flight attendant will let you put it in the FC closet or an empty galley cabinet if they're nice.
Otherwise, you have to gate check it.

 

[Av8rPHX]

Sometimes quicker just to gate check it, especially when you end up in row 10 of a 757 or whatever and the only bins open are in the back of the a/c, alot easier to just get off the plane and wait for your bag in the jetway than walk all the way to the back of the a/c.

 

[Weasil]

You wont see pilots out by the baggage carousel unless ground crew put their bags there by mistake because they have crew tags on them. They are never supposed to send those out to baggage claim.

That would be impractical too because you would have to go out through security and come back when sometimes the flight you're working is at the gate next to the one you got off! At US Airways (mainline) we can't just check our bags on the jetway though, we have to go downstairs and put them by the cargo hold ourselves and then go down and get them back when we get there.

 

[want2fly]

So if I get some crew tags for my bags they will bring them to the jetway rather than to the baggage carousel if I gate check them?

 

[EagleRJ]

If you are jumpseating on an airline other than your own, any crew tags will be cheerfully ignored by the rampers, and your bag will go to baggage claim. If you want to claim it on the jetbridge, you'll have to make sure they put one of their gate-check tags on it.

Trust me on this one!

 

[FlyChicaga]

Also ask the flight attendants. They have great "rollaboard-room-finding" skills. I even had one F/A made a PA that people needed to get their jackets out of the overheads and stop hogging the room for people who needed to store their actual luggage when I came up front to gate-check my rollaboard. I was red-faced as this F/A starts shoving coats around and stored my rollaboard... I normally stay as low-key as possible when jumpseating.

 

[Pull & Rotate]

Being a commuter, I have jumpseated a lot over the years. I can count on one hand how many times I have had to check my rollaboard. I agree the flight attendants can be very helpfull in finding bin space. This is a great opportunity to thank the ATA crews. They are the best. They treat Jumpseaters as if we were VIPs. Always let us board first and therefore there is always a place to stow bags.

 

[Weasil]

So if I get some crew tags for my bags they will bring them to the jetway rather than to the baggage carousel if I gate check them?

Firstly your profile indicates that you don't work for an airline. Regular passengers can gate check luggage by just asking for a bag tag for gate checked luggage.

Secondly as a previous poster stated, your tags are only good for your own airline, when I jumpseat on another carrier I gate check my rollerboard and put a gate checked luggage tag on it just like everybody else.