Okay everyone, after some major surgery, I'm going to reopen this thread.

Please note that numerous posts have been deleted for containing inaccurate information (FT rule 15) that led this thread to become a hot mess, and therefore not at all helpful (rule 12.1). I have tried to leave up the posts that contain accurate information that might actually be useful for the OP and others who might encounter this situation; some posts were a mix of correct and incorrect information, and because my time is limited and I'd like to get this thread back open, I've erred on the side of just deleting them entirely. I also considered leaving up the posts with incorrect information, but even though some FTers stepped in to provide information that was accurate, a number of people continued to reiterate and comment on the inaccurate information, so I felt it was best to try to just wipe out all of the nonsense.

For the record, since these were clearly a source of much misunderstanding on the board:

• The AC pilot contracts entitles deadheading CAPTAINS AND FOs to J (excludes relief pilots, and Jazz pilots are under a different CBA). This was implemented just under five years ago (September 2017) so please try to remember this, as this isn't the first time this misconception has come up recently
• Deadheading can be operating to and/or from a pairing that starts and/or ends at an airport other than the pilot's base. Please see [MENTION=618395]paul21[/MENTION]'s explanation of deadheading vs commuting upthread

Let's please try to keep this topic to the OP's questions, and the facts around pilot J travel and downgrades.

I'll also note that I can't recall off the top of my head whether we have any other reasonably recent threads touching on downgrades (that don't involve eUps), and I may merge this if/when I remember/find such a thread.

Adam Smith
AC Forum Moderator