Is it ever the case that part of the tour passes through your gateway - e.g. LHR or LGW or BIG?
It is possible to come through your gateway if it is a fairly popular destination for NJE. London City, Farnborough, Northolt are some of the favorite in the UK, as well as Nice/Cannes and Le Bourget in France.
But you should not count on it. It can happen often or never.
I am Nice based for example and although most crews will night stop there, it took me nearly a year to get my first one.
On the other hand since then I have had 2 days stanby during the middle of a tour, in Cannes (20 mins from home), 1 day SBY in Nice, 2 Night stops in Cannes, and 4 night stops in Nice. I have started from Nice or ended my tour about 4 times in 07.
This is pretty nice but of course it is in no way an acurate representation of what will happen next month or next year. It just can or cannot happen. A bit of a bonus if you like
.
So once again and in order to avoid any disappointment,
you should really count on being away 5 nights per tour and not less.