If every aircraft from every carrier carried the legal minimum and no more, it would bite. Somebody has to go into the hold when there are multiple diversions from a major to a relatively minor airfield. I am genuinely afraid that one day I will have multiple fuel maydays on my freq and I will have to ask for endurance to decide my sequence. In Europe every carrier has the same alternates.
The decision should NEVER be taken away from the Captain. Every Captain will pick a different number and as a result the system works. If every Captain picked the same number it would not work so well.....
I have no reason to believe any company would do this of course
Last edited by Una Due Tfc; 21st Apr 2014 at 11:41.