Always planning to arrive at LHR in a 744 with never less than 25,000 lbs, which includes 20 mins holding at LHR, on a nice day with Stansted as diversion, one day last year after 25 minutes holding, had to Go Around with one on not clearing, had such a warm fuzzy feeling going downwind that I had in fact arrived in the Hold as planned with 30,000 lbs. But then my operation allows me to do that, so maybe I'm lucky that I'm usually free of the extraordinary stress that many pilots have to suffer because of their company's minimum fuel policies. The worst times I think I had was trying to stretch Dan Air 727's LGW to Tenerife using ERA's all over the place, No 7, say, on approach, when you knew there were at least the same number holding at the diversion, say Las Palmas. Crazy! When the APU flames out taxying in as I believed happened to a Far East 744 operator, it was time for the CAA to take an interest, which it did I believe, after some 10 documented incidents of their arriving at LHR with below minimum fuel.