Firstly I am not privy to CAR233. I suppose I could look it up on the CASA website but I couldn't be bothered. In my part of the world (ICAO signatory) my operations manual covers what's written in the regulations. I'm pretty sure QF would be the same.
If we go down the path of "what if" we could be here all day for me and all night for you.
For eg. You say "what if I get a medical diversion enroute". Okay, now the plot thickens. Question: am I completely devoid of charts or do I not have EGLL only?
If I don't have any charts whatsoever, I would then have to manage the situation slightly more cautiously. However I would still continue. Again I would use the same resources to get me into London as I would into BAKU. What geographical route do you take from VHHH to EGLL? I am fairly familiar with quite a few aerodromes between OMDB and VHHH. Weather - ok northern hemisphere summer is pretty good through Europe. Monsoon in Asia etc etc. Its all big picture stuff
In regards to your last comment Fatmike, all I can say is this: I flew with a Qantas subsidiary (as a Captain) many years ago. I was not considered good enough to be a Second Officer with mainline (which is quite funny given the topic at hand). I had to take my skills offshore to a place where as you mentioned, different rules apply. All I can say is that at 36 years of age with a Command on the 777 flying all over the world and earning the equivalent of 343000 AUD gross......it's a small price to pay.
Last edited by Bypass ratio; 15th Sep 2011 at 12:23.