AFTER FLYING A 30 MIN HOLD WITH AN EFC THE FLT AT THE EFC WAS CLRED TO CONTINUE BY CTR AND HANDED OFF TO APCH WHO ASSIGNED DELAY VECTORS BEFORE CLRING THE FLT FOR THE APCH. THE RPTR FELT THE DELAY VECTORS DIMINISHED THE PLTS' ABILITY TO PLAN FOR FUEL CONSUMPTION.

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WE WERE INBOUND TO SFO FROM LAX. BECAUSE OF EARLIER LOW CEILINGS; TFC HAD BACKED UP ON THE APCH TO SFO. WHILE WITH ZOA WE RECEIVED INSTRUCTIONS TO HOLD AT SKUNK (ON THE BIG SUR ARR) WITH AN EFC OF XA30Z -- ABOUT 30 MINS OF HOLDING. WE ACTUALLY LEFT SKUNK EXACTLY AT XA30; TO CONTINUE THE BIG SUR ARR; AND WERE TURNED OVER TO BAY APCH. AT THIS POINT; WHAT USUALLY HAPPENS HAPPENED -- WE WERE GIVEN DELAY VECTORS BACK AND FORTH W OF THE HILLS NEAR OSI VOR. MY PROB IS THIS: WHEN ON DELAY VECTORS WE HAVE NO IDEA HOW LONG WE WILL BE HOLDING AND CANNOT PLAN OUR FUEL ACCORDINGLY. BAY APCH SHOULD JUST PUT US IN ANOTHER HOLDING STACK OVER; SAY; MENLO INTXN; WITH PROPER EFC'S; THEN PULL PEOPLE FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE STACK AS SPACE PERMITS. THAT'S THE WAY IT'S DONE IN MANY OTHER PLACES (PARTICULARLY IN WESTERN EUROPE) AND IT'S WHAT BAY APCH SHOULD BE DOING. WE WERE NEVER IN A LOW FUEL SIT THIS TIME; BUT OTHER PEOPLE ON THE FREQ WERE. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: THE RPTR STATED HE WAS FLYING A B737-300 OR 500; HE DOES NOT REMEMBER WHICH. WHEN THIS ANALYST EXPLAINED TO THE RPTR THE REASON WAS THE APCH DOES NOT NORMALLY HOLD ACFT BUT IS ACTIVELY POSITIONING THE ACFT TO FILL THE SLOTS. THE RPTR STATED HE HAD A CTLR FRIEND WHO THOUGHT IT WOULD BE EASIER AND BETTER IF THE TRACON HAD A COUPLE OF THE BOTTOM HOLDING SLOTS AT BOULDER FOR EXAMPLE. THE ANSWER IS TRACON HAS TRIED IT AND THOUGH IT MAY BE EASIER FOR TRACON THE SLOTS CANNOT BE FILLED AS PRECISELY FROM HOLDING AT BOULDER AS THEY CAN FROM A DOWNWIND IN THE VICINITY OF OSI. FILLING THE SLOTS AS PRECISELY AS POSSIBLE IS THE AIM OF THE GAME AND NOT WHAT IS EASIEST.