buoy15
If you were on duty then your priority (Category A of A to E, if I remember correctly) would have been higher than any non-serving wives on a shopping trip (Category E) and your Category was regardless of rank. I've posted this tale here before but when I was in MOD a bunch of general rank officers went on a duty beano to the USA with their wives as indulgence passengers. For the return journey all of the wives were bumped off the VC10 to make way for some duty passengers - the RAF football team returning from a tour of North America!!! (I think official sports teams were Category D.) A hopping-mad general came steaming through my office on his way to giving my principal rice for the 'outrage' but he left with his tail between his legs and a flea in his ear (from my principal). The dear ladies had to pay to come home commercial. Laugh!!!
The Round Robins I remember from the 60s and 70s were Devons or similar that flew a regular route every morning delivering small spare parts, documents and the odd bod to a variety of bases. They were very useful as a way of getting u/s aircraft back in the air ASAP. I don't remember if they were organised on a RAF, Command or Group basis.
As an aside, does the DOMCOL programme still exist? This was the scheme where if a serviceman's parents were domiciled overseas he could claim a free return commercial flight to that country every 5 years. I think it applied only to unmarried personnel. I used that 2 or 3 times.