LHR Dctr...
<<One short-haul guy said "If we go around on this approach we'll be declaring an emergency". Another, inbound from another UK airport only 40 mins away, told me in the BNN hold "Be advised that we are committed to land at Heathrow Airport". Err.. what? None of us really understood what he meant, given that Luton was half the flying time away.. >>
What he means is that he longer has the fuel to continue to destination (LHR), GA, and then divert.
As you say, whilst he remains in the hold, Luton, Stansted, Gatwich, S'Hampton, B'Mouth (depending on hold) maybe closer. But he is referring to the overall fuel reserves (or rather, lack of them).
Whilst it might be fine in ATC terms to say "you can divert", it doesn't necessarily solve the problem. You are in the queue at LHR, and now go into the queue for LGW - same problem, different airport!
<<If someone says "we can only hold for five more minutes" and we're in a steady EAT situation there's not much we can do about it >>
May I beg to disagree! Please tell him "OK, we'll break all the rules, pull you off early, p*ss everyone off etc." (for which we'll thank you very much), or even more importantly, say "Tough - you will NOT be coming off in the next 5 minutes". The latter is preferable to "er, we'll see", or "I'll try", or "should be OK". We can then divert with more fuel than waiting to the absolute minimum, which not only keeps our stress levels down, but also the hassle we'll give ATC at the airfield we're diverting to...
<<Hey it's just the British airlines who can't plan their fuel properly!>>
Please do NB the great pressures put on us by our Mgmt, especially into LHR as our "home base". The lack of fuel we have is partly down to the professionalism of LHR ATC! There are only 2 ways you will get us to take more fuel:
1. Whinge loudly at your Mgmt, CAA, everyone, that we have not enough. Then the rues will be changed...
2. Ensure more of us divert!
Our managers ONLY understand money - if we keep diverting, with all the ensuing costs, then they'll say "take more fuel". If the present situation, where ATC bend over backwards to get us in, continues, then the Managers will say the Fuel Policy is just fine thank you. Pilots can take more if they wish, but same thinking applies - unless they get into divert or declaring fuel emergency situations from time to time, "Mgmt Fuel" seems OK.
Please NB in BA, LH already but SH soon, we have a new fuel planning system, that basically means we take less fuel. It is more accurate, so the (little) "fat" we had before has gone...
Good debate anyway!
NoD