The short answer is yes. But it does not mean you were harmed by a Grateful Dead fan.

It could mean you were either injured by someone who is “Deadheading” or while you were flying as a “Deadhead.”

What is Deadheading? Deadheading is the practice of carrying, at no charge, an airline’s own staff on a regular commercial flight so that they can be at the airport where their shift will be initiated. It is the repositioning of crew (pilots, mechanics, flight attendants, security, etc.) by flying them as passengers on a flight to another location where they are needed, or the airline is short-staffed. When Doug Landau flew to Montreal to compete in the 2022 ITU Triathlon World Championships, because of COVID, he was one of the few “paying passengers” in a jet full of Air Canada pilots, flight attendants and others employees. Lawyer Landau noted that, “the food on this flight, by Air Canada chefs for Air Canada flight crew that were deadheading, was some of the best airline food I have ever eaten, in any class, anywhere!” This practice is more common than people think, especially when Airlie crew are needed to be transported between different airports in order to maintain optimal (and legally mandated) levels of staffing at the various airports or hubs where the airlines conduct their operations. Dead heading pilots, crew members and flight attendants and other staff enables the major airlines to have smooth operation of flights and schedules.

Especially during the COVID Pandemic, many airline employees got sick, so schedules that personnel had bid on in advance had to be changed at the last minute. This meant that in order to have the requisite number of flight attendants on board, or pilots flying the jets, the airlines would dead head their employees to have the right number of people, with the right experience and skill sets, in the right places.

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Since airline crew members who are deadheading are paid for their travel time, even though they are not working the flight, if they are injured, they would likely be able to bring a Workers Compensation claim for their injuries. Deadheading can happen at any point in an airline crew member’s itinerary, whether at the beginning of a trip sequence, in the middle, or at the end, after they have completed their duties.  Deadheading allows the airlines to move crew members around the world, to where they are needed. This ensures that flights are properly staffed. If a flight attendant is injured during a leg of an multi-city itinerary, the airline may deadhead a replacement to the airport where the disabled flight crew member was relieved of duty in order to receive medical care at a local hospital or emergency medical clinic. Deadheading is a cost-effective way to transport airline crew without requiring them to use a separate form of transportation.

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Deadheading is not as glamorous as one may imagine. While those airline employees who are flying as deadheads are compensated for their time; do not have to provide service on board the aircraft; or sit in the uncomfortable, non-reclining jump seats, they do not get to fly in Delta One or First Class. As they usually traveling uniform and sit among the “paying passengers” in the economy cabin, airline employees who are deadheading are subject to the same risks during the flight as other travelers.  Just like any paying air traveler, they can be:

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