I know why they screwed around for 3 hours burning fuel.
It is because, given their first hand knowledge of the entire situation and the condition of the airplane, in their professional judgement it was the best course of action.
Sorry to disappoint.
Think of all the lives that would have been saved if they had a link to PPRuNe that would have enabled them to solicit advice.
My point exactly - just didn't made it clear enough. Too many people speculating and second guessing why they reacted the way they did and opining they could have done better. What was the rush? Saving a few dollars? I just offerred a possible scenario experience based on our own experience out of there.
Somebody below said hot brakes aren't an issue at Vegas. Well maybe not for some but we don''t have brake fans installed on our 320s and we have tight turnarounds and we regularly take delays waiting for the things to cool down. Check your brake temps next time you have a long downhill taxi there. In an A320 the HOT BRAKES ECAM triggers at 300 deg C and once it does you can't takeoff. ( No fire extinguishing in the gear well)