(Cornish, we might have crossed, I've reposted)
Here's what I heard:
The aircraft is in RSA for 10 days, not "nearly a month".
Given the fleet expansion, the fleet's route profile vs. the training requirement at the moment it's an opportunity to get some mandatory training/ post simulator consolidation performed for the newbies whilst at the same time keeping established trainers/line pilots recent.
The aircraft does a commercial sector down and back, plus some promotional activities, plus the training.
Have you seen the pound v Rand rate recently?
Cheaper train out of Durban than the likes of Shannon, Prestwick or Chateauroux, and there are the LHR-JNB-LHR revenue sectors to factor in.
Despite some opinions expressed here BA have a very hard nose when it comes to employees and "jollies". Somebody
will have run this through a cost v benefit process.
Oh, not on the fleet, nothing in it for me....
....