cessnapete, 2 answers to that.
1. how many crew did/does your airline employ that are ‘interchangeable’? I’m guessing an airline could have 100-200 type rated pilots and to employ 5 extra for contingency would add 2.5-5% costs (simple maths to make a point).
An ATC unit might have 30 controllers (bigger units would have more but only valid within a smaller, sector specific group).
You can’t take a DVR sector controller and plug them in on LAKES just because there’s a shortage on that sector. It’s like asking a Boeing pilot to fill in on an Airbus for a couple of days.
If you want to add an extra 5 staff for ATC standbys that’s a 17% increase in costs.
2. One of the previous pricing control period agreements for NATS (NERL) gave the choice to airlines of bronze service with low cost and higher expected delays, silver or gold service with higher costs and lower delays.
The unanimous answer was a cheap as possible.
NATS seems to be at a stage where delays are generally very low but occasionally batched together when a headline making failure occurs.
I believe NATS handles 24% of European traffic and contributes 3.1% of delays.
Last edited by Del Prado; 21st Nov 2023 at 14:58.