Thanks, Dan. Excellent post.
If south coast can't see that there is undue pressure being applied to discourage pilots from taking additional fuel then he is either being deliberately obtuse or has another agenda. The point is that although pilots are similarly qualified, there is a broad range of experience and attitude. Some pilots would take the above memo with a pinch of salt and carry justifiable extra fuel when needed. However, other pilots would be swayed by such a communication from an unforgiving management and would allow their fuel decision to be influenced by the perceived negative consequences (letter from base captain, denial of base transfer, no allocation of hours on a paid by the hour contract etc etc).
One might argue that such a pilot is at fault for lacking the fortitude to make a decision based solely on safety or you might argue that the company is at fault for putting fuel costs before safety. It is hard to argue that safety margins have not been compromised.