Airline Pilot Mentor

After researching the typical life of an airline pilot you have probably realized by now that there are times when an Airline Pilot will find him or herself “stranded” at a pilot base. This is a result of ending a trip too late to catch the last flight home or having to fly in a day early because the pairing, or trip, starts too early to commute in the day of the trip. Most pilots who have schedules that are not “commutable” will sleep in the lavish quarters affectionately named a “crashpad”.

A crashpad is typically an apartment or house with as little as one room or as many as 6 or more. Each room typically has two or more bunk beds allowing for several pilots to sleep at one time. The two typical arrangements styles are ‘hot beds” and “reserved beds”. In an example of hotbeds let’s first assume that the crashpad has 6 bunk beds, beds for 12 pilots to sleep, which the crashpad owner will rent out to 20 or so pilots for a monthly fee. Typically the fee for a crashpad is between $125-$300/mo. In this case the 20 pilots are going to share the 12 spots; it is unlikely that all 20 pilots will be there at the same time; therefore upon arrival a pilot will take any bed not in use. This means it may still be warm from the last crew member, hence the hot bed name. The second more preferred option is a reserved bed. This means that only an equal amount of pilots are accepted as there are beds. The fee for these crashpads works the same way, a monthly payment, but in this case you have a sure spot to lay your head and know that you are the only pilot utilizing that bed.

Crashpad amenities
You might wonder what sort of amenities these crashpads provide; in most cases it’s not so bad. Wireless internet is almost always provided as well as a shared full kitchen, bath, TV, and sometimes even a game table or video game system. Getting to the crashpad may pose a problem for those that have no local means of transportation. Since the reason a pilot would have a crashpad in the first place is because they are far from home a simple, and common, solution is free or low-cost transportation provided by the crashpad. Most crashpads are located next to or within walking distance to a train or bus station where a cheap ride directly to the airport is provided.  Some crashpads provide a free “community” car where residents agree to shuttle each other to and from the airport.

You may have heard a pilot say they are jumpseating to work or riding the jumpseat home and wondered what it means. Well, these terms are used to describe a valuable resource many pilots use each day to get to and from work.

The jumpseat is literally an auxiliary seat located in the cockpit of most airline aircraft, Jumpseats are typically smaller foldout seats occupied during flight by an Additional Crew Member (ACM). Some larger aircraft may have multiple jumpseats located in the cockpit i.e. the Boeing 757.

On some occasions crewmembers designated as Check Airmen or FAA inspectors occupy the seat to perform crew observations or inspections.  Other times on long flights, a relief pilot (IRO) is required as an additional pilot to provide adequate rest for all crew members. One key use for pilots is the privilege of occupying the jumpseat in a non-revenue status for personal travel. This last use is where the term jumpseating is most commonly applied. It refers to a pilot using the jumpseat, when available and permitted by the captain, to travel for free.

Why is jumpseating important to pilots?
Pilots typically use this form of travel as a means of getting to and from work. Because many pilots do not live where they are based the jumpseat privilege allows active pilots to commute to work or travel for pleasure from outside their pilot domicile. History has shown that airlines open and close bases as needed operationally which may pose a negative impact on a pilot’s personal life if they have to bare the burden of constantly moving due to changes in pilot domiciles. Sometimes these domicile changes happen often or other times pilots must find new employment due to a furlough or complete failure of an airline. This jumpseat privilege allows pilots to continue to live a more stable lifestyle while their career may place their employment elsewhere geographically.

Are there benefits to having a jumpseater?
The Jumpseating pilot is considered to be an additional crew member (ACM), an extra set of eyes in the cockpit, an added level of safety, and in today’s day and age an extra security barrier. Pilots should consider this longstanding tradition of airline pilot Jumpseating, which has been negotiated and protected by union pilots, as a privilege and professional courtesy. The ultimate jurisdiction over the seat rests on the shoulders of the Captain, the pilot in command. When looking to utilize the jumpseat for travel it is the responsibility of the requesting pilot to approach the Captain and request the use of their additional cockpit seat. Though this courtesy is rarely denied to an appropriately qualified pilot, it is a courtesy on behalf of the Captain and should be requested rather than expected.  Today most airlines allow unlimited pilot jumpseaters, this means that if all cockpit jumpseats are occupied then any open cabin seat is considered an available jumpseat at no cost.