One question I cant find the answer to is on the whole chartering it out to BA etc when its not in use by us. Do the engineers that work on it have to have a civilian qualification if it is going to be used by fare paying pax? I’m talking about a JAR qualification? Will all maintenance be carried out by civvies technicians therefore making hundreds of RAF technicians redundant?
If it's used by an airline for passenger services it'll need to be maintained by an EASA 145 approved maintenance organisation. There's no reason the RAF couldn't apply for this status though provided it's Engineers are EASA Pt 66 Licenced, this can be achieved fairly quickly for experienced engineers.
Can't see this happening though and i would expect this whole tanker/passenger hybrid thing will die a death before it gets off the ground.