i think its probably true that with so many more casuals on board now that there is going to be alot of unpaid home reserve- i dont want this to sound harsh or nasty bcos thats not my intention at all.... but unfortunately too many people have the opinion that 'they are just so happy/thankful' to be in this business of flying that they are prepared to do anything- and that includes making themselves AV even when there is no AV span allocated for days on end. doing this occasionally i guess isnt such a bad thing (if your happy to be on call for the whole 24 hrs) but if it happens too much then i fear it will be taken advantage of.
the attitude of 'im just happy to be a F/A bcos i've wanted to do this job since i was a kid....so therefore i'll break the rules, do anything that crewing asks me to do etc, etc' only undermines the rights and working conditions of everyone else involved- not only other casuals but also full-timers too. i can never understand why people dont see that??? having a 'i'll do anything' attitude only puts industrial relations back 100 yrs-yeah in the short term it might mean that an individual gets a few more hours than others, but in the long run it doesnt benefit anyone (except maybe the company you work for of course). ive had brief conversations with a few casuals about this sort of thing and they dont seem to get it?
i too am grateful to be in a job such as this, its a great job most of the time, there are much harder and worse paid jobs around (ive had some of them previously!) and in general i really like the people i work with day to day- BUT im not prepared to 'DO ANYTHING' for any job, or just for the 'money' either. i wont do things that im not supposed to just to benefit my own purposes- in the end it all comes back to bite you on the 'proverbial'!