DFC you are pretty good at throwing lots of words without a lot of accuracy.
Our local MP did oppose privatisation and did achieve changes to the proposed legislation. Not least was the inclusion of a requirement to build a new centre at Prestwick.
However, the important thing is that it is currently impossible for a private investor to obtain a controling stake in NATS since to do so they would need to purchase 51% of the shares. Purchase of the TAG shares would yield 46% - the maximum possible currently.
Well you seem to have missed the point again. The 46% shareholding is the voting shares in the company and as such hold control. They are owned by private companies and will be sold if you make them a nice offer.
The North Sea stuff you can discuss elsewhere as there are other threads.
The new Annex has already cost NATS plenty of money which was not budgeted for in litigation and cancelation costs as a result of the start stop start management of the project.
There was no litigation and the cancellation costs are part of the project costs when it is completed. Nothing to do with start stop management and everything to do with being the only privatised ATC en route service. After 9/11 there was no money to spend so unlike the other ATC providers round the world we had to take immediate action to reduce spending for a period. You would rather we just kept on spending and passed the whole costs on to the reduced number of flights ?
I can see it being very possible for traffic from Frankfurt to route to Brest and there to the NW corner of NOTA if the routecharges and UK delays make it worthwhile.
Complete hor***t. Frankfurt - Brest - 57N15W 57N20W ? yeah yeah. What sort of economics drives that route ?
"The Shanwick computer will be destabilised"
Shows what rubbish computing you are using. Atlantic operators were told some time ago that technology was being upgraded and a new annex being built onto the OACC to house all this wonderful technology.
I presume you are referring to the Shanwick FDP system. It happens to be one of the best and most efficient ATC Oceanic systems in the world. So much so that the Canadians are very keen to incorporate a whole lot of the technology in the new combined Canadain and UK system. What is being talked about here is this whole NOTA nonsense has not been thought through. The costs incurred by changing the current system in it's last few years of life are completely out of proportion when a new one is on the way. History also shows that major software changes take time to settle in to stability.
The customer desrves honesty for it's money.
So it does. The honesty to say who is paying for this equipment given to the Irish and what the actual cost to all the customers is likley to be.
