Seems to be two worlds apart here.(Charters and scheduled)Being of the flying shellsuit camp may I describe a not untypical day in the crew room during pre-flight.
Crew reports for night Tenerife when scheduled boys are sipping Horlicks and donning PJ's and slippers.Dispatcher announces inbound is running 30 minutes late.Look at flight plans-Scheduled block time=flight time.Told slot is about 2hours after inbound on chocks.Work out if we can do it in hours.Can't.Apply discretion .Go.
We then have to explain to the crew that we "Are not into discretion untill we are half way home so we are NOT dispatching into discretion".Eighty minute turnaround down route plus a late slot puts us into the third hour.Go.Give crew the choice of landing in Lisbon then hanging around for a flight plus deadheading etc or continuing home and getting to beds.Continue.Land at base 2.5 hours into discretion.
Have worked for several UK charters and thats the way it works.
[ 27 August 2001: Message edited by: HOMER SIMPSONS LOVECHILD ]