Yeah that is indeed a major part of it. We can see the flight loads in advance both on our employee website and at work on the regular computers. So it isn't like we just show up for flights with our fingers crossed. I know for sure I'm flying when I show up to fly. Plus, in the event of a cancellation or something, we can just hop on any other flight at a moments notice, or use unconventional routings to get to where we're going.

Also, we can ride in the jump seat on full flights, so that option is always there as well.

It's a great perk and I can't say enough about it. It's part of why I love my job so much. I remember in my first year on the job, I spent every single weekend flying out somewhere. On one weekend I flew to PHX and went to the Grand Canyon, the next weekend I was a beach bum in San Diego, and in Florida in subsequent trips as well, went to Seattle for no reason at all, MCI regularly for the top notch BBQ, TUS for spring training baseball, and other places as well. I booked a $69 room at the Wynn on the 10th, so I'll be heading to Vegas in a couple weeks. I've probably used my flight privileges for countless thousands of dollars worth of air travel. I'm starting to get burned out on it now (I fly probably every 6 weeks), but it's still a highly valued benefit of my job.