Headwind,
I suspect what the crew in question meant was that they could not go-around without having to declare a mayday, not quite the same thing as not being able to go-around.
I don't really want to be in either position so I (apart from late pm) put enough fuel on to be able to hold for 15-20mins and still land at LHR with alternate fuel in the tanks. That said, the JAA fuel policy works very well in my opinion, it puts the decision of what to do with the extra fuel on the aircraft right where it should be, in the flightdeck.
Wiley's comments on his method of fuel planning make perfect sense to me although I have to say I have never found it quite as complicated as that. It seems fairly simple to me, you know at what fuel figures you have to make a decision and as those various figures come close I size up the current situation with regard to traffic, weather etc. and then we make a choice about what to do.
Held this morning for about 25 minutes at BNN and it was a nice comfy feeling sitting there with a hot coffee and plenty of lovely jet-a in the tanks, no worries at all. Great.