Originally Posted by
ridefar
So nobody seated in economy (including the vast majority of their paying passengers) is being treated with decency and respect? I can't parse your statement any other way.
I claim the right to include at least
some hyperbole in my posts.
Seriously though, a fundamental difference between paying passengers and FOs is that customers, collectively, through their Walmart-shopper, lowest-price mentality, are complicit in the trend to higher density, excruciatingly uncomfortable Y cabin seating. In the past, deadheading crew in Y could expect a reasonable level of comfort. That's no longer the case. Being seated in J merely gives them back a level of comfort they used to have before Y became a sardine can.
If we want to talk about decency, respect, safety, etc., try this: if a pilot's job is so sensitive to rest that flying J domestically versus Y domestically is important, then they shouldn't be flying at all to get to work.
FWIW, I don't subscribe to the argument that deadheading in Y has any impact on a crewmember's ability to safely fly a plane.