'Photos to follow'

Check-in:
Travelling on stanby can always be a harrowing experience, but when trying to catch a flight at the height of summer-season madness, who how knows what can happen?

Being the 'child' (mid-20's!) of a parent who works for an AF subsiduary, the idea idea of being a fully recognised and trusted member of the AF fraternity was always a long-shot. Upon checking in at the dedicated staff counter ( Terminal 2C), I could hardly have been reassured by the possy of nervous 'seat-vultures', all looking to grab whatever seat they could to whatever destination in the region they felt akin.

By the time I got called for the flight (minus half my fingers) I was convincingly reassured by the staff, it would be Just as I was walking away, she said to me 'I notice you are the only person on stand-by, would you be prepared to take the jump-seat if given'? My thoughts were screaming 'Hell ya, I'd take the bloody toilet seat if you gave it to me!)

This somewhat naive check-in girl then proceeded to ring a supervisor to enquire about this. She asked me where I work for AF, to which I replied 'I dont, my father does'........she relayed this to her superior who in turn asked what does he do? Again I gave the ambigious reply of 'Operations, based in Paris' (even though he's not) After a couple of seconds of grumbling French, I heard the boarding pass machine churn out 'something'.

To my amazment the seat number had: J/S (whoopie!) I was however told that this would be a crew seat and not a seat in the cockpit (Dam...I always wanted to ride shotgun in an A340,but a seat's a seats I told myself)


Boarding/Flight
As used to be consistant with AF flights to America (before the full opening of the new Terminal 2E) we did not have an air-bridge, but were all rather bused out to a remote gate where we climbed the front stairs to the A340.

I was the last passanger on and fully expected to be shown to a pull-down seat, no doubt beside the galley. Being greated by the chief pursur she looked at by boaring pass quite confusedly, but then ushered me in her direction. As we took a left at the door I was wondering, what's going on here? business class maybe!....but no, we kept on all the way to the cockpit when I was was rather lavishly intoroduced to the captain and FO as a member of AF staff! Trying to act the consumate professional, I had to hold back the glee of excitment that was coarsing through me. Just after we started to taxi-out (with me straped in the right jump seat, just behind the FO) the pursur came in and told me she had found me a seat Oh no I was thinking, from take-off in the cockpit to slumming it 'down the back'....this was not what I wanted. While not wanting to make a fuss, I begrudgingly followed her out into the cabin. Not far though - she pointed at the one free seat in buiness class

The flight therein was a joyful experience. Being the only staff member on board I was more than looked after with non-stop champagne top-ups and dedicated service. I almost felt guilty being paid so much attention, while mere paying passingers were being treated as 'normal'.

Looking at the service from a critical point of view, the AF business class product is somewhat behind BA/Lufthansa/Swiss in terms of quality of service (obviously a long way behind SQ/CX etc). However, while the seat is very comfortable and the new-generation seats on the 777-330's are flat, the quality/portions of food are quite poor. Further signs of cost-cutting are the poor quality (thin paper) menu's now handed out in bulk. A long way from the extravagant menus that you see pictures of in FT trips reports. Also, from my many experiences with AF, the inflight extertainment system can also be quite indifferent...sometimes it likes to work, sometimes it dosen't.

On this flight however, I had no compaints apart from the fact I was the first person off the plane and the last person to recieve my bag....I guess you just cant cant expect everything to be perfect!

I am quite confused.

As a nondependent of an airline employee, without showing a badge and passport you were able to obtain a jumpseat as a cabin crew?

And then once aboard the aircraft, the purser, who knew you had a cabin jumpseat assignment, introduced you to the pilots, who then in turn didn't check your passport, badge, or cockpit jumpseat pass allowed you to sit in the jumpseat?

Care to explain?

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Yeah, but OP did pass thru security and apparently didn't have more than 3 ounces of any liquids... so according to TSA, OP was qualified for the jump seat.

Presumably, OP had some of ID that proved he/she was "family".. I hope!

Thanks for the enjoyable read.

I would love to give a lavish explanation as to why I was allowed in the J/S, however, i guess it was just a mixture of luck and the fact that AF seem pretty lenient when it comes to that sort of thing.

Since that trip I've had the same thing happen to me on a flight CDG-BKK (only for them to find me a seat in economy! all out of luck on that trip) Nowadays all AF staff tickets are electronic and dont contain the scope of info on the party traveling that the old 'open' paper stand-by' used to. However because they are issued through a special online res system, they know for sure that you are AF staff (of one form or another!)

My brother ended up in a jumpseat on CX on one of my family/companion tickets... they never asked him for any clarification of job type. Generally at CX (and I think BA and VS) a call from dispatch will be made to the Capt to request jump seat for subload and its their choice..... I remember once having a Capt let my friend and I ride jumpseat back from IST on BA (I was CX staff, friend non airline) and when I thanked him on boarding he was very clear that he NEVER denied a jumpseat pax after having been stuck in the Canary Islands 20 years previously.

And on a US-bound flight to boot... Amazing, with the billions being spent on aviation security, any idiot can simply con his/her way into the flight deck on a non-US carrier.

This is typical AF bs..That's why I avoid flying with them even though I live in Paris..

I find AF Y among the best. Much better than Swiss and better than BA in terms of legroom.

coscous -you can take the above statement with a 'pinch of salt'......more often than not non-rev's are treated like pure sh*t..!!