Weekends off HAVE been an issue lately- I had a six month spell without a weekend off last year, and recently had 2 months without one. However, in the last month or two it seems to have settled down a bit- about one weekend off in three or four.
Days off are supposed to be eight a month- on the current roster I have several more than that, but there was little point in giving me standbys given that I'm rostered for 100 hours flying (and the rest). DE Captains will probably be able to go straight to LHR (hold out for the extra money, they will not get enough volunteers to fill all the left seats). For new FOs I would say it is less likely, but not impossible. The FOs as a group failed to understand market forces, and volunteered to work out of LHR for no extra pay.
Latest rumour out of Stockley Close is that LHR will continue into the winter 2007-8 (perhaps only one aircraft) then stop. This would tie in with the Embraer being more of a slot-protection measure than a permanent A319 replacement- come March 2008 a lot of the shorthaul routes may go back to the 319, on a reduced frequency, freeing up slots for longhaul. Of course, I have no inside track into the mind of SMB (
) so all the above may prove complete rot...