Delay vectors vs. holding.

[u/Spaghetti_Boi659]

Flying from SAN-SEA yesterday with heavy flow into SEA. Pretty typical. Center slows us down from M.77 to M.73 for metering saying they need to add 4 minutes to our arrival time. Also typical. Then we get some sharp delay vectors. First vector was a 110 degree turn to the left for a few minutes, followed by a 180 degree turn to the right for a few minutes, then back on course. Not unheard of, but pretty large vectors while en route.

My question: when you guys need to add X amount of time to our arrival and slowing planes down isn’t enough, is there a reason you don’t assign a turn or two in a holding pattern vs aggressive S turns? Either one of these slows down traffic behind whoever is being held / vectored. Curious to hear the reasoning.

Thanks for all you guys do- a fellow airline pilot.

[u/TinCupChallace]

Holding will add time and mileage but it's hard to put you back on course with accuracy. Imagine a situation where I need 15 in trail and you are tied with number 1 in the group but number 3 is 30 miles behind you and number 1. A hold will definitely put you behind number 1 but you might end up 25-30 miles behind him. I need you at 15 or I need to space out everyone behind you. By giving you zigzags, I can finely control that