I'm pleased to hear there are some Reservation Specialists out there who understand what a sub load/non rev ticket is.
Even more thankful to hear that they are willing to assist.

Huge efforts dealing with our national carrier.
Go through the motions of :
Good Morning/Afternoon/Evening, I'm a XX Employee. I have a standby/Non Rev/Employee ticket on XX.
May I please check some flight loads for XX 000 from LHR/XXX, or should I call back later in the day.

" I don't understand / Can I have your ticket number "
" Well, no, I haven't had the ticket issued yet, at this stage I would just like to know what my chances are"
" I'm afraid I cannot help you, you will need to speak to your own travel department "
" My staff travel department cannot look at actual flight loads on your airline, they can see what I can see in our system "
" I'm sorry, but I cannot help you. You do need to speak to your own staff travel department "

A call the following day :

" My name is XXX, I'm calling from XX, may I please refer you to a PNR "
" Yes, what is the locator "
" I'm afraid that since I created the reservation in our system I don't have your locator, the system did not generate one in the OSI nor SSR field "
" What are the flight details "
" Give flight details "
" Are you the passenger "
" No. It is my father "
" I'm sorry, but due to confidentuality I cannot disclose anything "
" I understand that, but I can give you anything you need from our PNR since I created it and I ticketed it "
" Sorry, I'm unable to give you any details "
" I'm not looking for any details. XX Generated a message that the flight was sold against status, it was booked and ticketed the same day. At this stage I would like to know if there is anything you can to assist me - it has been ticketed and the availability showed open in our system and the PNR was ended before I ticketed it "
" Let me check "
" Sorry Sir, we cannot assist you "
" What should I do? "
" You need to speak to your Manager "
" Why do I need to speak to my Manager, I am a Manager and my overall Manager sits in Chicago "
" They would know what to do "
" I doubt it. Is it possible to speak to a Team Leader please "
" They will tell you the same I have "
" That's as maybe. However, please may I speak to a Team Leader " ( On Hold for a few minutes )
" Sorry, You should have a number to call, this is the Agency Help Desk number you need to speak to "
" I tried that. It requires an IATA number before you can proceed to speak to anyone, since we are an airline, it does not recognise our IATA number and the call is terminated "
" Sorry, then you will need to speak to your Manager for the number to call "
" My Manager will not have the number and which number and which Department are you referring to "
" Sorry Sir. I'm unable to assist you "
" Ok, here's the situation. I sold a seat on your airline for my father. 2 days prior to travel I checked the PNR to ensure there were no schedule changes. At this point I notice HX sectors and the vendor remark sold against status. I will not be able to purchase the same fare again, it has a pre book period.

I won't continue.

The end result.
In the first instance, I flew with QF.

In the second instance, I cancelled the PNR, had the ticket refunded and gave AZ my money.

Moral : I yearn for the good old days !