Jumpseat
I was fortunate enough to offer jumpseats to a lot of people before 2001. Now it changed unfortunatly as many Airlines have specified who is allowed to sit in the jumpseat. The final discretion of the Captain is undermined since a while by the buerocrats who where not able to get one in the past and try to protect Pilots from Pilots of other Airlines....They come up with a million excuses such as liablity and bla bla bla. If you have a Z-fare ticket then you have real chance to get on, even on a full flight. Without ticket the jealous ground staff of many Airlines just won´t even bother to ask the Crew if they would accept a jumpseat occupant. I had asked and got them with a lot of Airlines around the globe often only when I was able to contact the Crew directly themselves. The OPS people or Checkin personell where, except in the US, never very helpful. I use AF often to fly from home to my first gateway CDG and was never asked to remove anything. The Cabin Crew often offered my a seat in Espace as I have about 10 hours of night flight next. The Ground staff of AF in CDG is a little bit funny in giving you a boarding pass before Check in closes to get early thru crowded security. Even if there are plenty of seats available they insist to wait until check in si closed. PAD- means passenger available debording. If they give a bording pass early and the flight would be unexpectly full then you can be refused to go aboard at the gate or, even worse, before the door closes, asked to vacate the seat and go off bord again. LH, BA and LX is handling that much better, they give you a open bording pass and the seat will be assigned at the gate. Helps all involved to save time to get thru security early and be ready to jump is required.... Good luck when you travel again and welcome if it may with me one day. I risk it as well sometimes if I can trust the people involved. I hope that BALPA is assisting me then as well.
Fly safe and land happy
NG