Maxalt you are welcome sir/ma'am!
Noting yr profile and reading between the lines, I would hazard a guess that the reason yr Ops Manual no longer describes "Reclear Procedure" is because there is no need for it. Reclear and En-Rte Alternate Procedures are normally only used for Long-haul.
With the ERA Procedure the contingency is higher of a) or b) described in my post above.
As an example let's take an A320.
15mins hold at 1500ft would be approx 525Kgs
Contingency is HIGHER of a) or b) so what is the break-even point when a=b?
5% of the fuel from En-rte Alternate to Destination would have to be 525Kgs also. Which means 100% of fuel ERA-Destn would be 10,500Kgs which for an A320 is about 5hrs flying time!! Consequently you are better off using 5% contingency.
That being said, some Operators are able to reduce their contingency to 3% of Trip fuel so long as an en-route alternate is available which is a "variation on the theme" of ERA Procedure.
Principal applies to all a/c so a B744 would have 2.4T for 15 Mins hold making 48T as fuel ERA-Destn and since we like to have ERA close to Destn the 15Mins will normally be the governing factor.
FYI flew Ryanair STN-PIK last month: on-time departures v. friendly cabin staff, ticket £1.25 each way, sarnies on board £3 -- Magic!!
