FlySaabXJ,
Forgive some of the answers you've received, but most of the European pilots and gate agents I've spoken to about jumpseating honestly don't understand the concept. They aren't being rude-- they just don't understand.
In Europe, Jumpseating means sitting in the jumpseat. Usually you need a ticket of some sort (revenue or non-revenue) to get on the plane, but you may be allowed to sit in the cockpit for some or all of the flight (depending on the regulations and how willing the crew is to deviate from those regulations).
In the US and Canada, jumpseating means extending a free ride, as a professional courtesy, to pilots of other airlines to return the favor. No ticket, no fee, no taxes (within or departing the US; departing foreign countries usually involves paying that country's taxes of anywhere from US$15 to US$65). The jumpseater will usually sit in First or Coach unless the flight is completely full, in which case the jumpseater will be allowed to sit in the cockpit if he is in the national database of pilots (CASS-- gate agents can enter a pilot's employee number and two-letter airline code and see a picture of the pilot)... except for flights which cross the US border (in or out) which do not allow a pilot from another airline to sit in the actual cockpit jumpseat.
Most European crew members I've run into don't understand the concept of walking up to a gate while the plane is being boarded, 25 or 30 minutes before departure, showing your airline ID badge, filling out a piece of paper, and walking down the jetbridge to get the Captain's signature and First Class seat for free on any one of the 32,000 flights a day across the US.
As for you, I assume you fly the Saab for Mesaba (XJ), right? Here are some pointers:
- Northwest: You can jumpseat in or out of the US to any destination for free, except that countries outside the US may charge you the departure tax. Figure on about $17.50 out of Tokyo or $60-ish out of Europe. Beijing is free, or was the last time I did it. As a jumpseater, you will almost always get Business Class on an International flight. If you fly as a non-rev (e-pass) only coach going overseas is free; coach coming back to the US will run you about $117 or so, and add about $100 for Business class in either direction. Thus, better to jumpseat instead of using a pass.
- Delta: Delta charges US$2.50 to jumpseat out of Atlanta, but someone said they weren't charged out of Cincinnati. I've paid about US$30-35 to jumpseat out of South America and US$50-65 to jumpseat out of Europe. They will almost always give you Business Class if available. NW/XJ's new agreement on Delta for non-rev pass travel is better than on NW-- absolutely free with automatic First or Business Class if available at no charge, but you will pay the departure country's departure tax-- US$60.90 out of Frankfurt, US$30.50 out of Tel Aviv, just to give you a couple of ideas. You do need a paper ticket, though, to non-rev, even for a free non-rev. order the ticket just like a ZED ticket, but there's no charge (except for taxes when returning to the US).
- United: Their policy is to put jumpseaters in Business Class if available (otherwise Coach). First Class is only for United jumpseaters, but sometimes the crews will put you up front anyway. Free out of the US, but departure taxes to return to the US. Forget non-rev'ing on United, their passes are expensive.
- Continental: Always free out of the US and they are supposed to charge departure taxes to come back into the US, but I have never been charged anything to jumpseat on them. Others tell me that they have to pay departure taxes out of foreign countries, but I've never been asked to pay. They always give a Business/First seat, if available. Great food, and the last time I flew them they have these new noise-canceling headsets in Business/First. I will always owe a debt of gratitude to CAL because they once got me back to the US on a completely full flight by allowing me to sit in the crew rest seats for takeoff and landing and hanging out on the aft galley during the enroute portion of the flight. Non-rev tickets on them are ZED, which will run about $75 out of the US and $115 back to the US (depending on where you're flying-- figure on $60-75 out of the US and that plus the country's departure taxes back in). They used to always upgrade the ZED passengers to Business/First, but lately they don't seem to.
- US Airways: Only used them once, Europe to the US. Can't remember if/what they charged for departure tax, but they were going to put me in Business Class until a paying passenger came down at the last minute. They're free to Europe to jumpseat. They are also standard ZED tickets (see CAL for price examples), but I don't think their overseas stations upgrade ZED passengers.
- American: XJ is not on their International Jumpseat Agreement list, so you can only jumpseat on them domestically. They are standard ZED tickets, but I've never flown them so I don't know of they upgrade ZED passengers or not.
- Air Canada: They allow jumpseaters, but it's a little different than with a US airline. The gates don't have the jumpseat forms, only the Captains do. It is basically a blank carbon-copy 3-layer hand-written ticket, and they have to do some telephone coordination with their dispatchers. No riding in the cockpit, even within Canada. I've always been put in Coach when I've jumpsat with them, but I think it was because their First Class was full, not because they don't allow jumpseaters in First Class. I've only jumpsat with them within Canada and between Canada and the US, so I don't know how they treat jumpseaters across oceans. I do know that I was signed up for the jumpseat out of Frankfurt once, though, and they said they never charge jumpseaters any fees, not even departure taxes.
- ZED Tickets: I have never flown on a non-US airline that will upgrade a ZED passenger. Most gate agents just look at me funny and say, "Why would we do that?" There are two airlines, Lufthansa and someone else (Qantas maybe?) that NW/XJ/9E crewmembers are allowed to purchase Business Class ZED tickets on. If I recall, it was about double the price to fly Business Class on LH instead of Coach... and totally worth it across the Atlantic. Round Trip LAX-FRA non-stop in Business Class was about US$500 or so.
- Misc. jumpseat: Bringing cookies for the crew AND gate agents will go a long ways toward getting a Business/First class seat as a jumpseater on an International flight. Outside of the US and Canada, I have only heard of Iberia and some Caribbean airlines offering free jumpseats to US pilots, except one US based pilot from Panama who got jumpseats on COPA when he went home to visit his family.
Hope this helps.