Originally Posted by
Curtain rod
They could just as easily base 1 or 2 of either rank anywhere and simply schedule those patterns from/to there, while the rest of the seats are occupied by pilots from any other location (primarily HKG).
Not entirely true, CR. Bases are only truly efficient when there are symmetric (even numbers) crew to operate in and out. You can't just blend HK and based crews. At some point, there needs to be a positioning sector to balance things out. Also, there are sometimes excessively long layovers to accommodate crew on bases or by based crew in HK. This all costs money and is inherently inefficient. Don't even get me started on the YVR and MAN freighter bases. Those are a joke and would not exist anywhere but CX.
The Company isn't just throwing out numbers from a game of darts when they put out this bid. They are trying to get bases to a minimum crewing level to be efficient when the Jeppessen system starts building patterns. The best computer program in the world can't make 1+2=4.