Flight Attendant Friday: Deadheading

Anther reader question having to do with the specifics of Flight Attendant scheduling.

Q.  What is deadheading?

A. In aviation speak, deadheading is a phrase used to position a flight crew member as part of their scheduled trip.  The term “positioning” is also used.

A Flight Attendant who is deadheading is on duty, that it, s/he is traveling on a particular flight under orders of the company, and is not a pleasure travel.  They may or may not be in uniform, that policy varies among airlines.  They will likely occupy a regular passenger seat on the airplane, although on some carriers they may be in a jump seat.  Some airlines allow deadheading crew members to sleep, others do not.

A deadheading leg may occur at the beginning, end, or in the middle of a scheduled trip.

Here are some examples::

• The first leg of a trip (flight) is deadheading to Hawaii, and then the following day, work the trip back to your home domicile (where the trip started).
• The first flight of the day is working from your home domicile to San Francisco, and then you deadhead the next leg to Oakland, and then fly from Oakland back to your home domicile.
• The first flight of the day is working from your home domicile to Chicago, and you then deadhead home (back to your home domicile).

In essence, deadheading is a way of getting a flight crew member where they need to be to work a trip, or to get them home at the end of a trip.