I'm not a pilot, and have no idea of the burden of such a situation. But reading the report in full, German included, my impression is that the Capt have been overconfident, hoping to please both the company and the pax despite the gear retraction failure. How much weight has a company-ACAR such as the one quoted on page 7, telling him to reach STR, whenever possible (since another A/C would have been available), when you're flying into troubles?