I was in the jumpseat of a Comair 732 from Cape Town to Jo burg in late 2003 - they said it was Captains decision. And it was great fun
A mate is a Ryanair captain and he cannot take people onto the flightdeck unless they are travelling on his company issued standby ticket and he knows them (which he will of course if he has given his dad or his mum a free trip).
I'm suprised at Air France I thought all West European/USA/'free world'
had a strict policy
Having said that, next time I'll bring my PPL!!