Richard Anderson gives up seat for customer
Jun 20, 2013, 7:36 pm
#76
Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 797
"Regular" non-revs do not have access to jump seats either in the cockpit or the cabin. There are exceptions but for the vast majority it's a seat in the cabin or nada.
Jun 20, 2013, 8:21 pm
#77
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Yes, but a pilot who was sitting in a seat could also have moved up to the cockpit and FAs could have taken a galley jump seat. No way to know if there was a pilot wanting to fly the jump seat...
Jun 20, 2013, 8:33 pm
#79
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These comments go back to my earlier point that the CEO should be the face of the company. On the "big day" it makes total sense to me that RA would be front-and-center... particularly since, as SRQRoadWarrior points-out, the T4 opening event was really much more about building Delta's brand equity in NYC than it was a terminal opening. RA is the face of the brand overall, as he should be.
Jun 20, 2013, 8:37 pm
#80
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. I think he has done some nice things for Delta, but I also feel like the buck stops with him in regards to the sneaky and borderline dishonest way the SM and other changes have been handled. It is difficult for me to get a fuzzy from this event based on the lack of respect his regime has shown many a FFer. Again, the lack of respect is not the changes themselves, but how they have been implemented.
Jun 20, 2013, 9:08 pm
#81
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Ann Arbor, MI
Posts: 1,380
One good deed does not a great person make. No one in this thread has said otherwise... just that it was, in fact, a good deed. No need to extrapolate any further.
Jun 20, 2013, 10:04 pm
#82
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Atlanta, GA
Programs: DL DM/MM, HH Diamond
Posts: 4
I happened to be on this flight, so I figured that was grounds for a very rare post from me. 
Just to clarify some of the earlier comments, RA took a galley jump seat, not the cockpit, and appeared to have made that decision prior to passenger boarding - still a nice gesture as it was clearly going to be a full flight with revenue pax left behind. The uncertainty surrounding whether there was a seat for the last passenger appeared to be the result of confusion over how many people were actually on board the aircraft, which most of us have probably noticed is common in IROPS situations with lots of standbys. The announcement that acknowledged him taking the jumpseat was made by one of the FAs, and she seemed to just be genuinely proud that he was on-board and had made room for one more passenger on an ugly night. It did not sound like pandering or like she had been put up to it, and he got a pretty warm round of applause afterward.
Another interesting thing about this flight to me was the sequence of DCA-ATL departures that evening. For anyone who wasn't traveling on the east coast last Thursday, this was "one of those days" with nasty weather everywhere. All of the hourly Delta departures to ATL were delayed from 5pm on, yet this flight, which was the last out and originally scheduled for 8pm, left before the 5pm, 6pm, and 7pm flights. I am sure there is a more reasonable explanation related to equipment availability, but it seemed like there might have been some preferential treatment involved.
RA was quite friendly and had the charm turned on high for the evening, and was extremely warm towards both the ground staff, flight crew, and passengers. It was somewhat amusing to see his interactions with people who recognized him, including one guy who was quite seriously trying to sell him on consulting services to improve the Delta website (not that many here would argue with the need for improvement). I know dealing with that kind of thing is part of the job description for a CEO, but he was particularly smooth and had most of the FC passengers speaking positively of him. The FAs on board were even more outstanding than usual, and the whole flight was an example of how good Delta is when they are on top of their game, and why many of us stay very loyal despite the higher fares, policy changes, and other BS that are part of flying today.
Just to clarify some of the earlier comments, RA took a galley jump seat, not the cockpit, and appeared to have made that decision prior to passenger boarding - still a nice gesture as it was clearly going to be a full flight with revenue pax left behind. The uncertainty surrounding whether there was a seat for the last passenger appeared to be the result of confusion over how many people were actually on board the aircraft, which most of us have probably noticed is common in IROPS situations with lots of standbys. The announcement that acknowledged him taking the jumpseat was made by one of the FAs, and she seemed to just be genuinely proud that he was on-board and had made room for one more passenger on an ugly night. It did not sound like pandering or like she had been put up to it, and he got a pretty warm round of applause afterward.Another interesting thing about this flight to me was the sequence of DCA-ATL departures that evening. For anyone who wasn't traveling on the east coast last Thursday, this was "one of those days" with nasty weather everywhere. All of the hourly Delta departures to ATL were delayed from 5pm on, yet this flight, which was the last out and originally scheduled for 8pm, left before the 5pm, 6pm, and 7pm flights. I am sure there is a more reasonable explanation related to equipment availability, but it seemed like there might have been some preferential treatment involved.
RA was quite friendly and had the charm turned on high for the evening, and was extremely warm towards both the ground staff, flight crew, and passengers. It was somewhat amusing to see his interactions with people who recognized him, including one guy who was quite seriously trying to sell him on consulting services to improve the Delta website (not that many here would argue with the need for improvement). I know dealing with that kind of thing is part of the job description for a CEO, but he was particularly smooth and had most of the FC passengers speaking positively of him. The FAs on board were even more outstanding than usual, and the whole flight was an example of how good Delta is when they are on top of their game, and why many of us stay very loyal despite the higher fares, policy changes, and other BS that are part of flying today.
Jun 21, 2013, 4:32 am
#83
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Whether or not anyone's in the cockpit jumpseat is totally at the Captain's discretion. If you're NRSA, you never count on that seat as being a given in calculating the number of available seats. That said, I've been on a few full flights where it made the difference between me getting on or not and I've always made a point of thanking both the jumpseat rider and the Captain for the favor of making room for me. And I do consider it to be a favor, because there are any number of reasons why a Captain may not want a jumpseat rider on a given flight and any number of reasons why a jumpseat eligible pass rider might rather be seated in the cabin.
Jun 21, 2013, 7:39 am
#84
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Whether or not anyone's in the cockpit jumpseat is totally at the Captain's discretion. If you're NRSA, you never count on that seat as being a given in calculating the number of available seats. That said, I've been on a few full flights where it made the difference between me getting on or not and I've always made a point of thanking both the jumpseat rider and the Captain for the favor of making room for me. And I do consider it to be a favor, because there are any number of reasons why a Captain may not want a jumpseat rider on a given flight and any number of reasons why a jumpseat eligible pass rider might rather be seated in the cabin.
Jun 21, 2013, 8:24 am
#85
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It was a nice gesture and all, but he essentially moved to a seat we do not have access to and may well have bumped a non rev from getting a that seat, though I can not be certain of that aspect. I think he has done some nice things for Delta, but I also feel like the buck stops with him in regards to the sneaky and borderline dishonest way the SM and other changes have been handled. It is difficult for me to get a fuzzy from this event based on the lack of respect his regime has shown many a FFer. Again, the lack of respect is not the changes themselves, but how they have been implemented.
If there is rot in the organization, RA has the responsibility to have it identified and removed.
If the rot remains, it is because he is not bothered by the rot.
The pusillanimous excuse of "Well, I was not aware of that" may work inside Washington, but not in the real world.
One little gesture on RA's part does not make up for the disingenuous way he has allowed his minions to treat the FF community.
Jun 21, 2013, 8:44 am
#87
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No one is "promoting it as a charitable PR piece" (not yet, anyway). I am the person this happened to - I posted it today around noon on my personal FB page - because my small audience of 233 friends are mostly from Atlanta, so I thought they would enjoy it. I also put in on Delta's FB page and sent a personal message to Richard Anderson through his FB page. But it's my personal FB page where it's been shared over 800 times, not Delta's or Richard's (I feel like we're on a first name basis now - lol). For the record, I have no ties to Delta other than being a SkyMiles member. I just thought it was pretty cool and wanted to share. I really had no idea it would go this far...
My oldest child developed Type 1 diabetes at age 6.
Summer "diabetes camp" was very helpful for her... in our case it was Camp Adam Fisher in South Carolina.
She is now 38 and doing well, and I give a bit of credit to the camp for that fact.
Jun 21, 2013, 10:41 am
#88
Join Date: Mar 2012
Programs: SkyMiles, OnePass, MileagePlus
Posts: 88
An airline can allow anyone into CASS as it wants to pay for and it also can allow anyone in the company ride the jumpseat as long as he is authorized by a Flight Operations Director or VP. CASS is not needed for company authorized employees.
At Delta, Flight Attendants are not authorized to use the cockpit jumpseat unless authorized by the VP of Flight Operations.
Richard Anderson as Delta CEO has one of the highest jumpseat priorities at Delta. Higher than pilots and dispatchers but below FAA inspectors.
Typically, the only people that you will see being in cockpit for leisure travel are Delta pilots and dispatchers followed by all the other airline pilots and dispatchers authorized by the CASS program with a reciprocal jumpseat agreement. Pinnacle pilots and dispatchers and all the other Delta Connection pilots and dispatchers come before offline pilots and dispatchers for priority at Delta for the jumpseat.
Flight attendants have their own cabin jumpseat that is run differently than the jumpseat program for pilots and dispatchers.
Most Non-Revs aren't allowed in the cockpit. The only people at an airline allowed the use of the jumpseat on an unlimited basis are upper level management positions, pilots, and dispatchers. The only workers allowed to take advantage of reciprocal jumpseat agreements for the cockpit jumpseat are pilots and dispatchers.
Airlines also deadhead mechanics in the jumpseat to work. I think at a few airlines, they allow mechanics use of the cockpit jumpseat on company aircraft on their own time.
The TSA until recently only allowed non essential jumpseaters in the cockpit when all seats were taken in the back. Now, it is completely in the hands of the captain though airlines haven't all changed their policies to reflect this.
The captain does have final authority of the jumpseat. Most pilots commute or non-rev and thus the vast majority are friendly to jumpseaters. There are a few bad apples that don't want to take jumpseaters though. At many airlines, a captain has justify why he didn't take a jumpseater and can get in trouble if there wasn't a good reason to turn down the jumpseater. Just to avoid the paperwork, there are some that would rather take the jumpseater than deal with the Chief Pilot.
At Delta, Flight Attendants are not authorized to use the cockpit jumpseat unless authorized by the VP of Flight Operations.
Richard Anderson as Delta CEO has one of the highest jumpseat priorities at Delta. Higher than pilots and dispatchers but below FAA inspectors.
Typically, the only people that you will see being in cockpit for leisure travel are Delta pilots and dispatchers followed by all the other airline pilots and dispatchers authorized by the CASS program with a reciprocal jumpseat agreement. Pinnacle pilots and dispatchers and all the other Delta Connection pilots and dispatchers come before offline pilots and dispatchers for priority at Delta for the jumpseat.
Flight attendants have their own cabin jumpseat that is run differently than the jumpseat program for pilots and dispatchers.
Most Non-Revs aren't allowed in the cockpit. The only people at an airline allowed the use of the jumpseat on an unlimited basis are upper level management positions, pilots, and dispatchers. The only workers allowed to take advantage of reciprocal jumpseat agreements for the cockpit jumpseat are pilots and dispatchers.
Airlines also deadhead mechanics in the jumpseat to work. I think at a few airlines, they allow mechanics use of the cockpit jumpseat on company aircraft on their own time.
The TSA until recently only allowed non essential jumpseaters in the cockpit when all seats were taken in the back. Now, it is completely in the hands of the captain though airlines haven't all changed their policies to reflect this.
The captain does have final authority of the jumpseat. Most pilots commute or non-rev and thus the vast majority are friendly to jumpseaters. There are a few bad apples that don't want to take jumpseaters though. At many airlines, a captain has justify why he didn't take a jumpseater and can get in trouble if there wasn't a good reason to turn down the jumpseater. Just to avoid the paperwork, there are some that would rather take the jumpseater than deal with the Chief Pilot.