LL, the duty duty hour limitations as set out in CAA document 371 re: crew duty hours are only applicable to crew working on UK registered aircraft. So unfortunately the LHR base is not covered by said document. I have spoken with several of the English hired crew who are not happy about this and are investigating it further. They feel that they are English and therefore should be covered by UK law, not Australia. Mind you nearly all of the English crew I have spoken to in slip ports are waiting to hear from BA (they are hiring 2000 crew apparently). So maybe the base will cost even more due to hiring and training of new crew in the not too distant future.
2 - Yes it was about the theft of a clock.
3 - Peanut is a CSM
4 - They are only saving on hotel bills in the UK but in reality spending more money on hotels in Asia. They also save a small amount by not paying overtime on long range sectors.
7 - I remember reading something from the FAAA last year advising they would not allow cross crewing with the LHR base. Can you imagine the punch ups that might start? The base doesn't have seniority either so how would Oz based crew fit in work position wise?