Please do not get bogged down in my cabin crew working on check in analogy, it is only to highlight that it could be possible, not that it will happen. BA already relies on volunteers in other areas at the drop of a hat.
And I'm afraid the problem with BA solely being responsible for the implementation of the ORP is a big problem. I am not suggesting that Bassa or any other union have an ultimate veto, and I agree that the current agreement is ridiculous, even more so when enforced by the unions. As mentioned by another poster there is absolutely no trust between cabin crew and BA. Whilst I'm a glass half full type I am finding it increasingly difficult to motivate crew when BA publicly go about antagonising their staff. Facebook, Bassa and now crewforum witch hunts. A company campaign to be-little and demonise crew resulting in a hastily removed 'wall of hate' in waterside. IFCE is simply not a fun place to work, there is no olive branch, no peace making, no incentive to work with BA to solve problems. Just threats and intimidation.
With this in mind, and a history of BA (and other airlines) seemingly never getting their cabin crew figures correct, I am not happy to have my life seriously distrupted because somebody somewhere got the figures wrong. Will it ever happen, I don't trust them enough to give it a try. I would rather have specific situations without ambiguity when ORP can be implemented. There has always been an underlying current that running with less crew than necessary is cheaper than doing the job properly.