YES- your airline management (& crew schedule) CAN (and does) track pilots through the CASS queries. At AA, we had a Captain jumpseat on Alaska from Portland to San Jose. and there was an Alaska agent that was looking for him. Sent him to the wingtip of their aircraft where there was an AA vehicle/ramp-type supervisor telling him about a reassignment for an earlier flight that was loaded and waiting on a Captain (him). We've had other pilots had crew schedulers "mention" their commute flight to base - on Flt # xyz on airline abc.
Everytime you jumpseat on a CASS airline, the agent plugs your employee # into their computer and sees your data/picture, and that (and this is what REALLY pisses me off) "you are authorized" to jumpseat. The FARs actually authorize us to OAL jumpseat (in the cabin, post 9/11), but management's potential negative input into CASS can have an agent turn you away.
What is potentially disturbing about this is twofold.
First, if one of your pass travelers (family, etc...) that rides on your travel "privileges" has an incident with an agent- if that incident gets 'out of hand', you could (at AA, at least- others I would think too) lose YOUR travel/jumpseat ability when management makes a negative input into your CASS record, saying you're NOT authorized. This could be devastating for a commuting pilot that relies on OAL carriers to get to/from work.
Second, is the strike situation- where pilots are attempting to get back to their homes. Anybody think the striking pilot's management will leave CASS authorizations intact? I don't think so.
Guys, I believe that CASS access is NOT required when sitting in the cabin. BUT, many airlines REQUIRE that their agents to do the CASS query for EVERY OAL pilot. They have no clue (I've asked some) about this tracking capability of your management.
Guys, it's NOT "all" about security. It's ALL about control.
I highly urge every US employed pilot to contact your union's national jumpseat coordinator/committeemen regarding the above issues.
They ARE watching.
KC135777