Originally Posted by RedHeadFlyer
I'm curious about the 1200 response to the RVR inquiry. Isn't that a Cat II ILS length? Assuming so, do the United 777s and crews normally maintain a Cat III qualification, and this was an exception?
You are correct on both counts. UA 777s are CAT IIIb, and can land in visibility as low as 300 feet, as long as the airport is certified for it (only a very few are). Most airports (including SFO) have minimums of 600'.
The fact that your crew said they needed 1200 RVR leads me to conclude that they had something deferred (maintenance) on the aircraft which removed them from CAT III status. There are any number of items which would do that, including radio altimeters, autobrakes, reversers, autothrottles, etc. It's fairly rare that an airplane is removed from CAT III status, and even rarer that it affects the operation.
I'm surprised that we didn't stay in holding longer. 25 minutes doesn't seem that long, especially with us being about 10 minutes early at the point we entered holding. I never heard minimum fuel mentioned,
If the weather doesn't look like it's going to come up to CAT II in the short term, there's no need to waste fuel in holding. Also, no need to declare minimum fuel in any circumstance, since that means that they can accept no further delay. That's not really a player when you're in holding and have an alternate - at that point, you simply go to your alternate.