¡Hola!
BelArgUSA
I was talking mainly about the 744, which I have operated with both augmented and heavy crews and where the extra crew member(s) has/have been carried only when the FDP requires, not as routine. Thus, on shorter longhaul routes (e.g. UK - East Coast USA), there would only be the basic two crew. Our 744 operation was designed around 2-crew. However, had we (like you) had at least 3-crew on the 744 at all times, it would have made good sense to incorporate the third crew member formally into the normal operation; we didn't, so it wasn't - hence my comments.
Before the 744, I flew the 747 Classic for many years. The three-crew complement (CPE) was, I think, by far the best combination - I much preferred it to the 2-crew 744. On the 742, augmented (4) crew worked well for such routes as UK-LAX but the heavy (5) crew and occasional double (6) crew could be cumbersome at times - even though they were needed to meet FDP requirements.
That said, I recall few difficulties with the 742 Long Range crewing. As I have said, I believe the 3-crew concept works so much better than 2-crew and so there was seldom any need to have more than the basic 3 (CPE) on the flight deck at any one time. About the only "heavy" participation would be that the extra F/E would do the walk-round.
So, all-in-all, that would be similar to what you are saying, I guess.
JD
