Narrative:

This is [an assignment where] we deadheaded. The flight was an hour late for a sdac no. 1 fault. I was sitting in 21c and the first officer in 21d. The customer in 21a asked if I might like the window seat and I said yes thinking that might help me get some sleep. I did not get a chance to assess that he and his wife were very large people. I got no sleep and had my elbows pulled into my side in order to not touch 21b. It was very uncomfortable and I had to get up several times to avoid the situation. I ate my meal which was yesterday's sandwich on the flight attendant jump seat. No meals were provided for the deadhead crew. A ramp supervisor took it upon himself to get the [us] sandwiches. There was no way for him to know they were yesterdays. I took out the roast beef and ate it and threw away the rock-like bread. The flight attendant was gracious to let me linger in her area. Back to the previous night's layover; I am very disciplined about getting proper sleep. I went to bed at 7 pm the night before and got up at 0445 for a 0545 pick up. I thought I slept pretty well; but noticed I had an extremely stiff back. I guess the mattress was pretty bad and my sleep was not that restful after all. Immediately upon landing and the passengers disembarking the first officer and I went to the cockpit with the papers for [the] flight which we had already reviewed. I asked him if he felt as bad as I did. He said yes; and now I had to look at the safe operation of this flight. I do not take it lightly that there was a full load of passengers waiting to go home. They had plans; and they were expecting to go. I do not take it lightly that this was a big expense for our company...rooms and meals and ill will cost a fortune. I had to make a decision based on safety and safety alone. I took the input that the first officer had to give and I judged that he was equally fatigued.I will have 40 years doing this; 35 with the airlines. For the twenty years prior to coming to [this carrier] I was intimately involved with safety; first as a squadron safety officer in the air force and then as a [union] safety person. I have not bent any metal yet and my goal is to keep that record. The day before; I spoke to scheduling about this identification and my expectation for a first class seat. They indicated it was sold out and we were wait listed for first. During that conversion I detected an attitude that concerns me. They think this is about comfort or vanity. No; this is about safety. [This identification] has been flown previously as a turn around and that may work a little better. You come from home completely rested and are able to perform at a safe level for the return. With the leg embedded in the middle of an identification you are performing at the level that the two previous days and the two previous layovers allow. Most other airlines fly these types of identification's with an international relief officer. There may be people here who fly this identification as is; but I am here to tell you under the wrong circumstances like a return to snowy or icy conditions or a crew like mine who was unable to get proper rest or in fact became more fatigued during the flight because of the claustrophobic or noisy conditions during the flight you could have a problem.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: An A319 flight crew reported they were too fatigued to fly their assignment after deadheading in the coach cabin which adversely affected their rest.

Narrative: This is [an assignment where] we deadheaded. The flight was an hour late for a SDAC NO. 1 fault. I was sitting in 21c and the First Officer in 21d. The customer in 21a asked if I might like the window seat and I said yes thinking that might help me get some sleep. I did not get a chance to assess that he and his wife were very large people. I got no sleep and had my elbows pulled into my side in order to not touch 21b. It was very uncomfortable and I had to get up several times to avoid the situation. I ate my meal which was yesterday's sandwich on the flight attendant jump seat. No meals were provided for the deadhead crew. A ramp supervisor took it upon himself to get the [us] sandwiches. There was no way for him to know they were yesterdays. I took out the roast beef and ate it and threw away the rock-like bread. The flight attendant was gracious to let me linger in her area. Back to the previous night's layover; I am very disciplined about getting proper sleep. I went to bed at 7 pm the night before and got up at 0445 for a 0545 pick up. I thought I slept pretty well; but noticed I had an extremely stiff back. I guess the mattress was pretty bad and my sleep was not that restful after all. Immediately upon landing and the passengers disembarking the First Officer and I went to the cockpit with the papers for [the] flight which we had already reviewed. I asked him if he felt as bad as I did. He said yes; and now I had to look at the safe operation of this flight. I do not take it lightly that there was a full load of passengers waiting to go home. They had plans; and they were expecting to go. I do not take it lightly that this was a big expense for our company...rooms and meals and ill will cost a fortune. I had to make a decision based on safety and safety alone. I took the input that the First Officer had to give and I judged that he was equally fatigued.I will have 40 years doing this; 35 with the airlines. For the twenty years prior to coming to [this carrier] I was intimately involved with safety; first as a squadron safety officer in the Air Force and then as a [union] safety person. I have not bent any metal yet and my goal is to keep that record. The day before; I spoke to Scheduling about this ID and my expectation for a First Class seat. They indicated it was sold out and we were wait listed for first. During that conversion I detected an attitude that concerns me. They think this is about comfort or vanity. No; this is about safety. [This ID] has been flown previously as a turn around and that may work a little better. You come from home completely rested and are able to perform at a safe level for the return. With the leg embedded in the middle of an ID you are performing at the level that the two previous days and the two previous layovers allow. Most other airlines fly these types of ID's with an International Relief Officer. There may be people here who fly this ID as is; but I am here to tell you under the wrong circumstances like a return to snowy or icy conditions or a crew like mine who was unable to get proper rest or in fact became more fatigued during the flight because of the claustrophobic or noisy conditions during the flight you could have a problem.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.