I was booked yesterday on an early evening Jungle Jet from IAH to STL. I finished my business early and tried to get on an earlier mid-afternoon ERJ flight. When I checked in, I was told that that earlier flight was oversold with five people already on standby, but that I would be added to the list and placed first (I didn't ask, but I assumed that that move was because I am Plat Elite).

Later on, I'm at the gate for the earlier flight. The GA asked for bump volunteers, but nobody bit. After everybody boarded, I and the other five standbys - which included an off duty CO FA - stood around waiting for the verdict. Before any action was taken by the GA, the off duty FA went to the counter, filled out some kind of form (which appeared to be the size of a boarding pass), handed a pink part of the form to the GA and boarded. About five minutes later the GA announced that there were two seats available for the standbys. I was called first, and then another standby was called.

I got on the airplane to take my seat, and as I boarded I saw the off duty FA get out of my seat to move to the last empty seat in the back. I settled in as the second standby passed me to take her seat toward the back of the ERJ. I then heard her complain that there was no seat available for her - the off duty FA was sitting in that seat - and she got off the airplane. I thought that I'd see her get back on with the GA, but - no - she did not reappear, the door was shut and the flight took off with the off duty CO FA on seated in that rear seat.

I had my seat, so I kept my mouth shut. But had there been only one standby seat available, I likely would have been in a position where I would have been denied boarding because of the off duty CO FA. So, it got me thinking, who gets priority for standby? I suspect that the presumably non-revenue FA had no business jumping the line, and if that is the case what should the passenger who get bounced have done (which means, if it had been me, what should I have done)?

Muy Estimado Caballaro Se�or Abogado, you gotta remember that the off duty FA could have been deadheading to/from a work assignment, and ain't necessarily a freeloader NRSA (Non-rev space available).

The abogado has got a followup question, then -- how does the deadheading thing work? Isn't space cleared in advance for a deadheading FA or pilot? (In my case, and with 20/20 hindsight, the FA seemed as if she was acting a bit surreptitiously when she filled out her form and boarded the airplane, something that I would not expect if the whole deal was on the level (but perhaps I'm just a conspiracy theorist).)

I love a good conspiracy theory, but this wasn't a BizFirst chair, just a spot on a jungle Jet.

I know nothing about the rules and boarding priorities for employees, but they say that CO's a great company to work for.

You seem to be observant, and you obviously have got extra time on your hands, have you thought about getting a part time job as an air marshall?

Not really. I just type fast.

It sounds like the FA was filling out a jumpseat form. The form has 3-parts(white, yellow, and pink). If she has been deadheading, she would have received a regular boarding pass with an assigned seat. The 50 seat RJ's have one extra FA jumpseat located on the last row of seats. It actually blocks access to the lav when in use. Therefore, after take-off, you have to move to the front jumpseat, so people can use the lav. As an employee, we would not be able to take up a revenue seat ahead of revenue passengers. I feel certain that she was jumpseating.

Oh, boi. I might have lost some credibility here, for your explanation fits. After the airplane hit 10K, the non-working FA came up front and spent the entire flight sitting in the working FA's rear facing seat; upon descent, the non-working FA returned to the back of the airplane. This works with a scenario where she didn't want to block access to the toilet.

I didn't hit the bathroom during the flight, and I never looked back to see what was going on there. Now that I give thought to your explanation, it is quite possible that I was so engrossed in my paperwork after the other standby left the airplane that I missed her if she ultimately returned. Oops. I'm very sorry if I cried wolf.

Anyway, thanks so much -- I learned a lot from your explanation.

Nah, no credibility lost. You just didn't know what was going on. I would probably be asking the same questions! That extra jumpseat actually slides out from behind the BC seat side. I have used it before, and when you head back there on a full plane, those people in the last row look at you like 'Where the hell are you going to sit!'. Then you get to see that look again when you pull out that little seat. Glad I could help.

If I (with no status) missed a connection and tried/had to standby for the next flight but found out that another pax (with status) just wishing to fly out earlier got the last standby seat ahead of me, I would ask for compensation from the airline.

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