Really, what's the difference between operating 5 hr sectors to the far end of the Med, and tacking on a couple of hours to that and hopping the pond or to the sandpit?
Time zone differences for one I would think.
Fly into JFK leaving midday any you arrive at 14:00 local or thereabouts.
Flight then leaves at 18:00 at the earliest, that's a 4 hour turnaround.
Arrives at 05:00-06:00 local back in Ireland say and then has maybe 6 hours before it leaves again??
Not terribly attractive in the land of quick turnarounds...So that's about 11 hours flying in 24 hours? What would be the daily utilisation of FR aircraft currently?