Originally Posted by nwaflygirl

So, was it, NWA, Mesaba, or Pinnacle? Also, please clarify what the "operated by" comment means? Do you mean "operated in cooperation with"?. I am curious why you would ask the FA on the aircraft about sitting in first? Upgrades are done by GA's, period. If you are SE, you know this.

To clarify some definitions:

A deadhead employee is one who is being transported by the company for the purpose of necessity elsewhere. These employees are working, in uniform, and considered on the clock. The pilot's contract allows for FC seating priority over anyone else, even bumping paying PAX. These employees are NOT non-rev's. FA's have option to stand by for FC. To the OP, are you certain that this wasn't a female pilot, and just because she was a female, you assumed she was a Flight Attendant? How can you be sure? This is my guess at what happened.

A non revenue employee is one who is traveling on thier own time and money. They may or may not be in uniform. There is an option of "jumpseating" which means they are technically part of the working crew, sitting on the jumpseat. However, if there is an available seat, they are usually welcome to take this seat. If not, they sit on the jumpseat for the flight. This is when you see those pilots in coach. People usually commute and jumpseat in uniform, simply because it is much easier in uniform dealing with security, etc.
There is also the space available option, when you actually hold a seat assignment, based on open seats available.