The uniformed attendant sitting next to you on your flight is probably 'deadheading' or getting paid to fly as a passenger
- Airlines sometimes have to reposition pilots and flight attendants so they can work on flights.
- Staff who are "deadheading" are paid to fly so they can reach another airport but aren't on active duty.
A Southwest Airlines flight from Texas to Missouri recently made an unscheduled stop in Kansas so that it could drop off a flight attendant needed at an airport in Wichita.
This practice of flying a pilot or cabin crew on a commercial plane to another airport to reposition them so that they can work a flight is known as "deadheading." This happens, for example, if a flight attendant calls in sick and a replacement must be found to comply with aircraft staffing rules – as was the case with a flight from Wichita that day.
Deadheading can also include flying crew to and from their home base if their scheduled routes don't return them there.
Pilots and flight attendants are considered to be on duty when they're deadheading and are usually given their full pay, even though they don't have to actively work on the flight.
"Deadheads" generally board first and are usually required to be in uniform in case they asked to work during the flight – which only happens in very rare circumstances – or have to head for another plane immediately upon landing, according to Simple Flying.
Earlier this year, an off-duty pilot stepped in to land an Air Canada flight after the first officer became "incapacitated," officials said, without providing further details.
Deadheading pilots rarely ride in the cockpit jump seat. This seat is instead almost exclusively used by pilots who are commuting – generally because they don't live near their base – or by Federal Aviation Administration inspectors. Instead, deadheading pilots and flight attendants generally sit in economy, though aviation-industry publication View From the Wing reported that American Airlines pilots are now able to deadhead in first class under a new union contract, similar to a United Airlines deal from 2020.
Passengers are often curious as to why pilots and flight attendants are sitting in uniform alongside them, asking them questions about their job, or expecting them to help with problems, per the LA Times.
"Flying like a passenger, and specifically with the passengers, can be a challenge," one former pilot wrote in a post for Plane and Pilot magazine. "We can seldom just sit and read a book. By virtue of my uniform, I become a minor celebrity when I'm sitting in 6A."
Are you a current or former pilot or flight attendant with a story to share? Contact this reporter at gdean@insider.com.