What's the whole thing with non rev passengers anyway?
It seems somewhat absurd to me to give employees passes for free or cut price flights that they can then give or sell on to friends.
At the same time you hear of airlines facing bankrupcy.
It would seem to me to be the logical thing is to max up revenue by not having freebies, or if you're going to do this for employees, make sure its only for them and immediate family and not something they're going to pass or sell on.
Huh? In most cases, employee travel is on a space available basis, i.e. the plane was going to take off with that seat empty anyway. Not allowing an employee to use it gains $0 in additional revenue (although it may gain $.15 in fuel savings). On the other hand, it's a highly valued employee benefit that keeps the airlines from having to pay a lot more in wages in order to attract and retain qualified employees, yet is provided at a very small marginal cost to the company. That's what's referred to in business schools everywhere as a no-brainer.
Every airline has very strict rules as to how employee travel benefits are administered, like who's eligible. It's usually just designated family, although there are opportunities to get passes to give to non-family. I can't speak with authority about all airlines, but all the ones I'm familiar with have strict rules against selling those passes, which would basically mean instant termination of employment if caught.