As I wrote a few days ago the whole "staff in J" stuff is a furphy and not relevant to the complaint about getting award space on QF 21/22 to Tokyo. In my view anyway.
I'll echo the other comment regarding airline staff travelling on either NRSA(non-rev space available) or ID (industry discount) fares. I've been lucky enough to fly as a non-rev years back, and the rules were very VERY clear. It's STANDBY you get on if there's a seat after all revenue customers are given seats, including revenue standby pax, then there's another priority for non rev pax (eg: own airline, other airline, etc).
I also echo the comment that folks on staff travel benefits shouldn't discuss it or make it obvious they are using that benefit. Of course one tends to notice it a bit when cabin crew spot their mates, or even as on a flight I was on yesterday the pax next to me in 1C (boarded at last minute, another clue) was clearly flying NRSA from the context of her discussion with the CSM (who seemed to recognise her) and also that she was last to be offered a meal (I notice QF dom crews in J are VERY good about this aspect, even if it does make it more obvious who non rev pax are).
none of this is relevant anyway as it's all STANDBY travel - as others have said - at the last minute. I have plenty of friends who are with various airlines worldwide, and it can be a nightmare to get seats in some markets for them and often they can be stranded places (the general rule is "if you HAVE to be there, buy a revenue ticket") and/or have multiple plans and backup routings available to get from A to B - and more often than not, from the stories I hear, it's the middle seat in the 2nd back row flying rather than up the pointy end, though it does happen.
The ONLY time you will find a staff member flying as priority to revenue pax, is usually crew dead heading or a reposition. I guess your senior managers also get revenue priority for staff travel (as in, Joyce must be in Sydney for the board meeting). While one can argue the merits of senior management displacing a passenger in J, I won't have an issue with a dead heading pilot or crew.
I'd also note I know of a number of managers at various international (North American) airlines who insisted on flying in Y despite what their entitlement was. Good for them. Apparently Richard Branson only flies in Y on VS also.
Anyway this is all an aside to the issues of a WP flying JQ, or trying to get an award seat on a QF service... again the availability of J seats for FF redemptions is a yield and revenue management issue and nothing to do with standby pax on the day of travel.
my 3.5 cents.
