I don't know about anywhere else, but in Australia in the time since 2001 and increased paranoia, as best as I can recall whenever I've flown as SLF the pilots have been onboard and locked away well before the pax load and maybe once have I seen them before the pax have all gotten off - I'm usually in cattle class and in no hurry to get off unlike most others, and quite often tend to be one of the last if not the last SLF out the door, so being able to talk to any of the flight crew is not an option.