B737 FLC IN AIR HOLD. COMPUTING FUEL CALCULATIONS AND CONFERRING WITH ATC THEY DETERMINE THEY WILL BE AT MINIMUM CONDITIONS IF THEY FLY AS CLRED. DECLARED MINIMUM FUEL.

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OUR FLT WAS PLACED IN A HOLDING PATTERN 75 MI N OF DJB ON J29. OUR FLT HELD FOR 30 MINS WHEN A SERIOUS INQUIRY TO ZOB WAS MADE. OUR CONCERN BEING OUR ROUTING TO CVG FOR FUEL CALCULATIONS. AFTER APPROX 10 MINS ZOB CLRED OUR FLT TO ROD AND SAID THE ROUTING WOULD BE ROD DIRECT MIE DIRECT SHB MILAN 3 ARR TO CVG. OUR FLT WAS ALSO EXPECTED TO FLY AT FL230 WHILE IN ZID AIRSPACE. WE PROCEEDED TO ROD AND BEGAN SERIOUS DISTANCE/FUEL/TIME CALCULATIONS. WITH WX AT CVG ATIS RPTING 300 BROKEN 2000 BROKEN 1 SM LIGHT RAIN AND FOG; TEMP 60 DEGS; WIND 140 DEGS AT 5 KTS; USING RWY 18L AND OUR CLOSEST ALTERNATE WITH ALT WX AS SDF; IT WAS DETERMINED THAT OUR FLT DID NOT HAVE ENOUGH FUEL FOR THIS ROUTING AND ALTERNATE AND RESERVE. WE REQUESTED AN EARLY HDOF TO ZID SINCE ZID CTLS THE AIRSPACE WE WOULD NEED TO SHORT CUT THROUGH. AT THIS POINT WE HAD PLENTY OF FUEL TO FLY OUR FLT PLAN ROUTING OF THE JENEY 1 ARR. ON HDOF TO ZID WE ADVISED THE CTLR OF OUR FUEL SIT. THE ZID CTLR SAID THAT IF WE WERE UNABLE TO FLY THIS ROUTING THEN HE WOULD DECLARE US AS MINIMUM FUEL. I THEN RESPONDED WITH (CALL SIGN); DECLARING MINIMUM FUEL; PROCEEDING DIRECT CVG. WHILE PROCEEDING DIRECT AND DSNDING WE ADVISED ZID THAT WE WOULD TURN SE FOR WX AND JOIN THE 055 DEG RADIAL OF CVG WHICH IS THE JENEY 1 ARR. NO WX DEV WAS NEEDED WITH CTR BECAUSE THE WX WE NEEDED TO DEVIATE AROUND WAS IN CVG APCH AIRSPACE. WE WOULD NEED TO PASS A LINE OF WX E TO W AND ABOUT 10 MI N OF CVG. THE 055 DEG RADIAL WAS CLR AND DEV TO THE S AROUND ONE RAIN SHOWER WAS NEEDED. CVG HAD CHANGED THE LDNG RWY TO RWY 27 AND ONCE S OF THE WX WE RECEIVED NORMAL VECTORS IN THE PATTERN FOR LNDG. OUR FLT BLOCK IN WITH 6800 LBS OF FUEL. 6200 LBS WERE NEEDED TO FLY TO SDF WITH RESERVES. THIS APPEARS TO BE A NEW THING WITH ZID; THAT THEY HOLD YOU OUTSIDE THEIR AIRSPACE. EARLIER IN THE MORNING WE HELD AT BDF (BRADFORD; IL) FOR 30 MINS UNTIL WE CHANGED DEST TO SDF (ONCE AGAIN OUR ALTERNATE) IN HOPE AS WE GOT CLOSER THAT WE COULD CHANGE BACK TO CVG. AT APPROX 100 MI W OF CVG; ZID ASKED IF WE WOULD LIKE TO GO TO CVG. IT IS VERY HARD TO CALCULATE FUEL WHEN YOU ARE HOLDING 250 PLUS MI FROM DEST AND DO NOT KNOW WHAT IS THE DELAY AND HOW MANY ACFT ARE AHEAD OF YOU.