@bradandwhitney
Nahhhh, we are not THAT desperate over here in Europe.
Stby is anyway a gamble, always was. Nowadays, with full planes it is even worse. I barely used stby, always a pain in the ass the stress if you make it or not.
If you are on duty it's the companies responsibility to bring me there, so I give a **** about how they do it.
In my free time I prefer to use anything else then an airline, again, such a pain in the *** nowadays to fly, with luggage or even the family. Pack everything in my van, drive when and how I want. Bring whatever I want(funny to say as an airline pilot, but sadly true).
Flightdeck jumpseat - was fun in my young days, so easy, no real regulations about it as it should really be. The Captain decided about "his" seat(s)" at the flightdeck, no one else(except an inspector of the authority thought it would be the right time to do an "ad hoc" checkflight which really never happened).
Today - as everything in aviation - made complicated by bureaucrats. Even do not bother to ask anymore for a jump. Just everything about aviation went down the drain. Bitter - yes. True - yes.