I noticed all you Transat JS riders are always coming up to the flight deck to introduce yourselves and say thanks for the JS.

Just wanted to say this has not gone unnoticed and we appreciated it. Stay classy!

Glad to help out.

Cheers,

A WJ pilot

I think it's the least we can do!

Thanks for noticing.

It's greatly appreciated amongst TSC pilots to have the privilege to jumpseat on Westjet and many other carriers. All are encouraged to stop by the flight deck and show our appreciation.

Bede wrote:I noticed all you Transat JS riders are always coming up to the flight deck to introduce yourselves and say thanks for the JS.

You mean there are people who don't do this? What has happened to professional courtesy? Shame on anyone who takes a free/extremely cheap flight, and can't spare the time to at least say "thanks for the ride"!

As a YWG-YYZ Transat commuter, I too would like to extend my thanks to both the AC and the WJ Flight crews. This privelege means a great deal, and I certainly appreciate the professional courtesy.

A big thanks for the help and enormous patience of the CSAs from both companies as well.

I don't jump seat on WJ, but whenever I do on any carrier I make a point to pokey head up front and introduce myself to the crew. Only takes a few seconds, and I've found that it is much appreciated. Call it professional courtesy.

It's not just professional courtesy, it's REQUIRED by any jumpseat agreement I've ever seen.

Letting me know your onboard also gives me a chance to see if I can move you to a plus seat as well -

I always try to say hello and certainly appreciate anyone coming up for a quick chat.

SB

It's the least I can do in exchange for the ride, I jumpseat around a fair amount and thoroughly enjoy the privilege.

And I always welcome any westjetters to come for a ride to Europe with us sometime, it's free and we'd be honored to have you aboard !

Cheers

ahramin wrote:It's not just professional courtesy, it's REQUIRED by any jumpseat agreement I've ever seen.

Strangely enough, AT pilots seem to be the only ones that seem to be doing it EVERY TIME, that I've noticed any ways. It's largely hit and miss with the other airlines. Since the JS got delegated to the sales folks (book by phone, talk to CSA), it took a lot of the professional courtesy of asking the captain out of the equation.

My experience in carrying j/seaters has not been a positive one. For the most part, they get on and get off without so much as a,"How do you do." I have written reports to the company as I believe it is a CAR's violation to have a j/seater in the back and not know that he/she is there. The one that galled me most was the AT pilot who enjoyed a J-class ride to YQB and made sure he was first off on arrival, his name was recorded for future reference, along with a few others from different companies.

I have j/seated twice, and both times I made sure to show my credentials on boarding and say a "Thank You" on leaving, something most, at least in my experience, seem to think is not a requirement for the privilege they have just received.

hey I have a question for TS,

are jumpseaters limited by the number of flight deck jumpseats?

thanx

Any jump seater I've encountered has always been positive and friendly. I think Transat are the only ones that I have run into who provided chocolate bars or care packages for the entire crew. That always perks up those 5 leg days.

I've yet to do any standby travel or jump seating, but that sets the new standard for any future travel for myself.

garfield wrote:hey I have a question for TS,

are jumpseaters limited by the number of flight deck jumpseats?

thanx

Your jumpseat rep should have given you a copy of the policies and procedures for each airline you can jumpseat with. If that wasn't done you should get a copy.

To answer the question, no limit.

There is some reluctance to approach the flight deck unannouced, as some jumpseaters feel intimidated about interupting a checklist or briefing. But that still doesnt excuse one from thanking a crew after the flight.

Now that word is circulating that this practice is encouraged, hoefully it will catch on. After getting a free ride on AT over the atlantic after getting bumped flight after flight on AC, the reciprical jumpseat program and the professional courtesy it entails is something i feel forever indebted to preserving.

Monorail you would be well advised to check your jumpseat agreement. Getting the Captain's permission to use the reciprocal jumpseat agreement before the flight is not optional, and saying thanks at the end is no substitute. As a reciprocal pilot jumpseat agreement user it is YOUR responsibility to get the Captain's permission. Even if the gate agents don't care (they don't), even if the flight attendants act as if you're scum trying to invade their aircraft (they do on certain red aircraft), even if the Captain himself refuses to shake your hand and treats you like an idiot for coming into his lofty presence (only once and I'll give him the benefit that it was a very long day for both of us. It doesn't matter how much of a pain in the ass it is, it doesn't matter that everyone wants you to just take your seat and shut up, that's the agreement. Make sure that the Captain is aware of a jumpseater and is ok with it or you risk your jumpseat priviledge.

When you mean air transit jumpseat riders your referee people who work with Air Transat: pilots? or passangers? got confused for a bit.

I feel like the best strategy is positive reinforcement. Over the past year or so I've noticed that the WJ crews would almost always shake my hand, introduce themselves and make a deliberate point to say, "thanks for coming up to say hi".

It does a lot take down the initimidation/feeling of getting in the way, etc, and build up that professional courtesy/camaraderie.

Bede's post is great for this - a lot of people will read this and the message will spread more effectively than a bullet point in a recip agreement.

In my experience the Transat folks are the ones that always show there faces and say thanks. This actually connected me with a former FO from the early 2000's that I have not saw in about 12 years.

I do find the worst offenders of not saying anything is the Jazz pilots, I have moved numerous Jazz pilots and have only had 1 approach the flight deck.

Flyinhigh, I suspect the Jazz pilots are simply tired of all the flak they get anytime they are within spitting distance of an AC pilot. While the odd AC pilot is ungracious to Transat pilots, I suspect it's 10 times worse for the Jazz ones.