Nope. At a previous airline you would have been called into the office to explain why you would take "more than others". Then they put a Westwind into the drink for not having an alternate.
In the VB days there were fuel meetings showing where Captains sat and had a board of who took the least amount of fuel as the winner. This has since been long gone, especially since the 'Mildura' incident.
Because Avalon is closer and they wouldn't carry the fuel to Sydney or Adelaide on a normal day. However, Canberra, Mildura, and LST are all closer than Sydney and Adelaide and all good options.
"All Virgin Australia flights will be planned with a minimum FOD (fuel over destination) equivalent to 60mins holding fuel..."
CASR Part 91 changed in 2021 and when a destination alternate is not planned, 15mins holding fuel must be carried instead. This also includes post dispatch fuel requirements and treated the same way as alternate fuel.
I completely agree and sometimes get ridiculed for my "excessive" fuel figure. I will always carry an alternate regardless of what the forecasts say. Of course, this is just my own fuel planning, and most skippers will take less.
By “excessive”, it will usually be about 1 tonne more than the flight plan, equal to an additional 30 mins.
