Originally Posted by
LarryJ
The details on complicated. Most instances where a pilot has an entitlement to a FC/BC seat only apply if a seat is available at the time the deadhead is scheduled. No rights to bump a passenger if FC/BC is already full.
Was formergr's flight a long-haul (>8hrs I think) international flight? That is the only time that I can think of that a DHing pilot has an entitlement to the seat even if FC/BC is full.
Just guessing from the information presented, the DH may have been booked in FC/BC but the pilot was late and the GA was in the process of releasing his seat when he showed up. He could have been late due to a tight inbound connection, tight hotel transportation (they schedule it tight!), or being a late call-out from reserve.
The odds are slim that the pilot just showed up in the 3 min window. I'm betting that the pilot was entitled to F, but the other passenger to whom the F seat was offered was also entitled, neither for a CPU. In other words, given the facts presented by OP, and avoiding the assumptions, first passenger was offered the seat, and when he passed, it became the pilot's seat under contract.
It can't be assumed that the passenger to whom the seat was first offered was getting a CPU. He may have been a revenue F on a IRROPS rebooking and entitled to that seat ahead of the pilot; if so, there were no CPU processed. Therefore, I think we can discount shenanigans and make the case that neither the pilot nor the first passenger were offered a CPU. They were both offered the seat for other reasons.
Originally Posted by
travelinmanS
If you want to sit in F you can just pay for it. I have no problem with employees getting seats in F above "elites" if it is part of their contract. I buy F or C now specifically to avoid these waitlist situations.
True, if you want F, buy it, but I don't think that's an appropriate response to OP, who is just asking what happened and asking about the rules.