Likewise, wanting to lose a link. This will only happen if they can re-crew otherwise you do the link at whatever time you have finished the minimum break. The Cabin crew relationship with Ops is very inflexible which actually makes it fairer. Don't ask for favours, don't expect any and we'll all stick to the rules. That way there can be no accusations of nepotism.
This even extends to running late. It'd be a rare day that we can call to say we're running late and still be on the trip (maybe a DME). There are rarely spare Captains and FOs sitting around on standby so they have to wait for them; there are usually plenty of crew on standby so bye bye trip. So don't be fooled by any optimists who think that by asking they'll buck the system. Ask anyone from Ops and they'll confirm what I have said is true.
Ottergirl
Yes that is my recollection of the SH situation - but it doesn't stop the "we need five minutes for a CAT payment/ chocks by xx to stay on our lucrative ZRH n/stop / yy minutes to lose our linked trip" requests from the cabin crew.
But more than that, the above is symptomatic of the problems and areas in which BA need to make efficiencies in the operation. As you say, there aren't generally any pilots standing by at the airport (maybe one/two Airbus crews in the early morning) and certainly none to cater for industrial agreement reasons. Imagine the cost to BA of having about 50 or so cabin crew sitting around all day (in fact they number probably 100 or so in various shifts) to cater for the missed links and no-shows.
What should happen is that the pilots and cabin have the same roster for the 1, 2, 3 or 4 day trip and stay together - a novel solution, invented everwhere else but in BA! Yes, I know that the current agreements have crew leaving and joining for certain sectors due to the club loads/aircraft type, but fundamentally, if only your reps had been prepared to get around the table and negotiate, we would not be where we are now.
I know that this dispute is not about that and that these T&C's are not being changed ..... yet. They will form the SH side of the discussions yet to come alongside the LH disruption agreement. The point stands though, if BASSA had been pro-active, New Fleet could have been off the table, but their 'talk to the hand' approach has just hastened the day when it is formed.
Too little movement ..... too late.