In a word, no. If you start shouting Mayday because you think you might run short of fuel then the CAA will have a quiet word in your ear. That may not fit with your simplistic approach to things but thats the way it works.
Originally Posted by Late Developer
Yes. But considering the commercial implications of a decision not yet made to divert on safety grounds is NOT your affair, never was and never will be so just fly the damn plane, please. If your fuel economy plans have gone for a ball of chalk then be sure you know which hat you put on to deal with it. If you discover a planning mistake like those discussed in this thread as a Pilot in the air then you WILL play Commercial Manager when you get back on the ground and not before.
I make no apology if this post gets up your nose. Maybe it needs another squirt.
And what qualifies you to make that judgement then, apart from having a PPL and once having sat on a 747 ten years ago? The answer? Nothing at all. You really have no idea what goes on in the cockpit of a commercial aircraft, but let me explain something to you. When we go to work we are the safety manager
and the commercial manager for that flight. Thats our job description. Its what we get paid for. We juggle priorities. Safety first. When safety is assured we then assess the commerical priorities. We may seek guidance from the company as to where they would like us to go, but it is our decision and our decision alone. Not somebody on the ground at company HQ and certainly not some underqualified back seat driver who thinks that on the basis of 240 hours in a Cessna that they have a valid opinion or that we even care. Whilst you like to make a big deal about three Virgin aircraft diverting to Cardiff, perhaps you'd like to tell us what the weather forceast was for the London area at the time those flights departed, or how many other airlines aircraft diverted to other airfields that day. I suspect you have no idea, something which is amply demonstrated in your posts.
And yes, you are wrong. Diversions are part of the business and a calculated commerical risk. Eventually you'll get caught out and have to divert but that costs less than carrying extra fuel for the 99.9% of flights where you won't need it.