Passengers sat in crew seats LHR-LAS
 

Yesterday I was on the BA275 from LHR-LAS. The plane was brought to the gate late and therefore it was catered late, so whilst the boards showed the gate open, the boarding sign didn’t show until 4.25pm. Within 2 mins it had changed to flight closing, so had a mad dash from the lounge to the gate.

i was in the UD and when getting to the top of the stairs, there were a couple of lads standing by the wardrobe to the right and as I got to my seat the purser came up and said to these guys “are you two together? Good, follow me” and took them back down the stairs.

i thought nothing of it but 5 mins later 2 other people came up the stairs (a 20 something male and an older lady) who seemingly weren’t together (and I later found out they were not) and were asked to sit on the ‘crew seat’ (I’ve never seen crew specifically sit there but it’s the double pull down seat) at the top of the stairs. It seemed strange but I thought there must have been some seat swapping going on. Turns out that after we took off, these 2 people were still sat there, now with a blanket each, just buckled in, sat within inches of each other. After about 7 hours of the flight, of which I’d slept the last 4 hours, I went to the bathroom and the male passenger had his head slumped forward asleep, in what looked like a very uncomfortable position.

After we we got served our 2nd meal, they were given something which I think came from economy. As we disembarked, the male flew down to the stairs whilst the rest of us, including the lady, were asked to hold back.

Whilst I appreciate this isn’t usual, is this something that happens every now and then. I initially thought they may be relatives of the crew but neither said goodbye to anyone in a way that would make them familiar with anyone and it just felt awkward that these poor passengers were sat there without even an iPad to watch. If they found out before departure some seats weren’t working, would passengers be offered this as an alternative to being offloaded? When I was in the lounge I had asked about paid upgrades to F but was told every seat on the plane was taken.

Hopefully some wise heads on the board can explain what circumstances need to occur for that to happen.

and don’t get me started on the bread roll being served 15 mins before the starter trolley came by...

There would have been staff or relative/friends off staff travelling on staff travel, oh the joys!

They might be staff or relatives of staff using staff travel; sometimes the comfort level is commensurate with what you pay for it (low). One should think of travelling like this before one becomes too envious of airline staff being able to fly the world for cheap.

My first impression was that they were on staff travel (not necessarily actual BA staff). The circumstances seem a bit odd though.

Reminds me of when my little brother flew back from SYD and was assigned a boarding pass with seat Jxx indicating a jump seat assignment, he was lucky enough to be given the crew rest after the flight deck had finished with it. Now there's some jealously to having a boarding pass with J before any seat number but not sure it' worth it for the pain and suffering!

Think of it as the amuse-bouche being brought back.

I don't recall there being amuse-bouches served in Club :confused:

A real enhancement then!

No biggie.

Probably BA staff/family of some kind on standby. Friends of ours do this regularly.

i thougt in some airlines you must be current employee to take Jump seat, looks like BA extends Jump seat priority to family members too？

I believe any BA employees and their nominees can have a cabin jump seat. Only crew with a valid ID can occupy a flight deck j/s. People using concessions from other airlines cannot have any j/s. Happy to be corrected on this.

Indeed. This is why I generally refuse to do staff travel and when I consult for an airline I take the hit and buy my own tickets. J priority means nothing if all J seats are taken. :)

That'd of course be the most likely explanation.

As a lesser possibility, a victim of crushing, as I was on VS.

Many moons ago I ended up flying in one of the jump seats because I was left with about 1/3 of a seat and there was nowhere else but the jump seat to sit.

I don't know BA/UK/EU rules on this, but on USA legacy carrier flights, nonrevs who are jumpseat qualified (typically cabin crew employed by the airline operating the flight) can take such seats when there aren't regular passenger seats available. In some cases, a nonrev higher on the list who would be entitled to a regular seat on the flight will volunteer to take such a seat in order to enable an additional nonrev to make the flight. I've also seen two jumpseat qualified nonrevs share a jumpseat and a regular seat, switching off once or twice to make a long flight less uncomfortable. Nonrevs should get last choice of meals on board, so they would be given whatever business/coach/crew food is left; there wouldn't be additional catering provided for the jumpseats.

@MSPeconomistYes that is my understanding that in certain US airlines, you must be a current employee to take jump seats. So retirees and nominees can not standby for those seats. That is particular good for employees who are risking missing the shift and have to go back on time.

My mum used to work for Pan Am and United as a PA. When we did the staff travel thing, one of us would end up in a jump seat pretty regularly as a standby ticket. None of us were what you would call “trained” for that seat! That was the 90s though...

One issue we had in F on a 747 back from MIA may have been to do with a staff member in the jump seat just behind F. He was frozen by the doors, with blankets over him, and I think the crew may have cranked up the heat because in the F cabin it was absolutely roasting hot. Tricky one, because he looked like he was shivering, so I can't think of any other way around it, but it made for a very uncomfortable flight.

But they are eligible?

I once saw a very high level FAA official take a cockpit jumpseat on at TATL segment operated by a USA carrier. He was assigned the IFC seat next to me

Just not for staff travel purposes?

The Customer Service Policy Manual lists everyone who is entitled to a flight deck jumpseats and you are correct in that engineers are not in that list. However there is provision for authorisation to be given by the CAA or the Director o Flight Operations to allow anyone not listed in the CSPM.

Staff/relatives of Staff on Staff Travel.

Think the skipper has the final say on who sits in the jumpseats or even if anyone will be able to.... it’s a choice (not our first, obviously) but no one really unknowingly ends up in the jump seat, you say if you are willing to take one or not.

I can firmly say after taking a jump seat from SYD to SIN with the promise of my nice seat from SIN to LHR but ending up on the jumpseat the whole way, I’d only to too glad to be stuck somewhere days on end than take the jumpseat again.

They really are only designed for short periods of time... although the “experience” made me eternally grateful for 53E on a 747 :)