It doesn't have to be made so difficult!
In the past I was required to go and relieve a pilot downroute who had fallen ill. I was phoned at home (on standby) and told I would be positioning out the following day. I was given all flight numbers, times and booking numbers.
Turned up for work in Civvies. Checked in with a First Class onload priority, told, very apologetically by the check in staff, that commercial were holding the First cabin due cancellations on other flights but the gate team had been informed.
Straight through security, oops, forgot my belt, back through the scanner. Staff, polite and ameniable. Into the First lounge at the departure station and relax. Get to the gate and the boarding pass doesn't scan as 'checked in', the nice lady takes the boadring card, checks the computer and informs me I ave been moved to first. Thank you! Lovely flight, get into the destination there is a nice man holding a placard with my name on it and takes me to a Limo which takes me to a pre-booked hotel in the city. The following day is off, the morning after I meet the crew, board a bus back to the airport where the airport station manager is waiting for us with the paperwork. We brief, get a heads up on the state of play of the airfield from the station manager, get introduced to our ground engineer and dispatcher then take the crew lane through security to the aircraft.
Once onboard, first get a cup of coffee, there are some sandwiches waiting for us in the flight deck and a couple of bottles of water each. We run the setup, load the passengers and depart for a pleasant flight home.
The reason for the story above is that the conditions in the OP post don't exist everywhere. I am lucky with the company I work for, they do look after the operation and their crews well and the support staff are almost always there when you need them.
The biggest problem is that until those who want to 'fly the dream' are aware of how it works on the grinding production line of LoCo they will continue to beat down the doors of the training colleges. For those in the LoCo's there are better jobs out there, it's just that they are stagnant at the moment but a little rumour has it that that may change soon.
Good luck!
Last edited by Wirbelsturm; 13th Dec 2012 at 08:56.