Do you take a pay reduction for the privilege of that pattern? Or is that 100%
I believe it's 100% roster roster pattern.
On the subject of staff travel, there have been a few improvements over the last year or two... which have had the consequence of making it more accessible to more staff and nominees, which has in turn made it harder for us to get on the flights.
These changes have included a 3rd nominee (up from 2), annual bookable tickets to staff shortly after joining (previously a 5 year wait) and being able to change nominees after just 3 months (down from 6 months).
I use staff travel a lot. Both on BA and other airlines. It's very far from perfect but for me it's still the single biggest perk of the job.
What staff travel at BA is NOT is a gauranteed way to get somewhere on a certain flight in a comfy seat.
What it IS is extremely flexible, fully refundable way of going places for cheap at short notice, so long as you are fine with making plan A, B, C and D and enjoy the chance to spend an unexpected night in a foreign land (ot at home) at your own expense.
Between me and my nominees we've made something like 32 sectors on seven airlines in the past year, nearly all long haul. We've been left behind on 7 of those sectors, and a few more times it's been very close. The level of stress really comes down to your own disposition, expectations, and planning.
Hopefully this gives you a flavour of what it's like.