Originally Posted by
yabadoo
Same here. I was upgraded to F from J and requested permission from the FA to visit the cockpit while still parked at the gate during a delay at DEL on AA293, cockpit crew welcomed me in and I took several photos and Captain allowed me to sit in his seat and he took photographs of me with my camera! (I am not a celebratory, just to be clear). Afterwards, FA took a few pictures of me at my seat when I requested if she would. There was no problem.
It all depends on the FA and his/her mood, they typically do not like these ultra-long flights and can get moody even with what they perceive to be the slightest inconveniences or irritations from pax, hence they pull out these rules to enforce at their whim.
It's a pity it's like this, it doesn't have to be though. Once UA had slogan which was something like "Come fly the friendly skies". What a bygone era, doesn't exist anymore.
Key evidence that it depends entirely on the specific crews. Some crews don't care, while others care very much. The first time I flew in the Flagship Suite to NRT, I asked if the Purser would be willing to take my photo sitting in the seat, and she was happy to oblige. It was very kind of the Captain to let you sit in his seat and take a photo. Technically, it is against AA policy, but once you are on board the aircraft, you are under the jurisdiction of the flight crew, especially the Captain, and whatever he says goes.
But the policy is quite clear, and in black and white for everyone to read:
NO passenger photography/video recording of airline personnel, equipment, or procedures.
Even if you don't buy the security argument, you perhaps might understand the privacy issues. If I were an FA, I wouldn't necessarily want my face showing on some guy's blog where he complains about the quality of the meal. Heck, here on FT we have a rule about not identifying non-management industry employees using full names, in order to protect their privacy.