Originally Posted by
PRWeezer
One other note per experiences on other airlines posted above. On DL NRSA travel is prioritized by date of employment, as said, and check-in time has no bearing on your spot on the list. (Exceptions include standby upgrades on One Great Team passes, but that's a whole other subject.
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Some employees are eligible to sit in a cockpit or cabin jump seat, so they could clear ahead of employees w higher seniority who aren't eligible for a jump seat if no passenger seats are left.
Furthermore, some commuters buy tickets vs risking standby.
DL has a 'fly confirmed for less' option for employees/select others, some of those earn miles (MQM & RDM) and are upgrade eligible if the pax is a Medallion. Some don't earn miles. These aren't considered nonrev travel, I'm simply pointing out that not all commuters rely on standby.
Echoing your point about jumpseats. Sometimes people would leapfrog the list and get a seat, usually jumpseaters. I've also seen a eligible non-rev give up their cabin seat to sit in the jumpseat so we could accommodate one more non-rev so they wouldn't be left behind. Happened one time on a HNL-mainland flight.