I would like to start off by thanking Overload for his thoughtful, considered reply to various criticisms which were levelled at him. In addition I am sorry if you were offended by any criticisms I had, although I should point out that I am not critical of you as a person, purely your percieved inability to deal with one aircraft.
I would be delighted to respond to your post, and give an "alternative" view of things down the west end, lest our Pilot colleagues feel that the job is beyond all of us.
You point out that, to the west of the Accel point, there are 9 UAR's that can come in to conflict with the Concorde. Agreed. But how many of these track North/South? 3.. Now surely these are the routes that affect the Concorde. The reason? Well, all the other routes are predominently E/W, and due to the off-route status we have, A/c on these routes can be vectored away from the UAR's. Indeed, in most cases, you find that by sending A/C direct to their OEPs, they stay nicely away from the UARs.. It is the N/S routes which predominantly affect the acceleration of the Concorde, and of these, I am sure you will agree that LND-BANBA is the main culprit. Now how many A/C do you actually get on this route? Well, not too many, let's be honest. EIDW i/b do not really come in to play as they are always descended early, so what is left, as you rightly say, are i/b for EGPF/PK, etc, &, er, Iceland i/b traffic. hhmm, now be honest, there's not really TOO much of that, is there?. So if you are unfortunate to have one of these conflicts, and we've all been there, what are the options? Descent or vectoring. I would suggest that descent is the preferred option (although I have had one A/C request to be vectored behind the Concorde); so the problem, in your mind, is that an A/C routing LND-BANBA has to be descended earlier than he wants.. So is that any different from descending LTMA i/b tfc early on UG1 against conflicting traffic N/S through BCN? Or descending EIDW/EICK traffic coming up through LIZAD early against traffic crossing at LND. Of course not. It is the same principle, and that is what we are paid to do. I know it is tough luck on the operators, but that's life. What can you do? Stop all UA25 traffic so that LTMA i/b can be descended "when ready"? Or stop A/C tracking west of DAWLY to allow EIDW/EICK to descend "when ready"? That is an ideal world, but, of course, an unrealistic one. The point I am trying to make is that when looked at from this point of view, Concorde is EXACTLY the same as any other A/C in the problems it presents. Every A/C creates difficulties which have to be solved. The "problems" caused by Concorde can be transposed to lots of other areas and situations in the sector..
You also mention that LTMA o/b tfc via EXMOR-MERLY has to be held down at FL250. Er, yes, and your point is..? That often happens when turbulence is around at upper levels, A/C are happy to stay down. It is not a problem. What's more, they are in the Upper Air when west of EXMOR, so I can't see what you are getting at..Furthermore, EIDW & EICK outbounds are now filed at low levels for the cruise; Flying at these levels is not a problem for the A/C..
I see that the I/B Concorde routing to MALBY at FL370 descending also causes you problems. This, of course, is not the case if there is no East or Westbound conflicting A/C. On the occasions where there are, might I suggest that you accept Concorde in to your sector at a level which IS safe? I often ask for Concorde to be FL290 (or whatever) Level abeam EGFF.. Never have I experienced opposition to this from the Pilots, and it EASILY solves any conflictions you may have. At subsonic levels, treat Concorde pretty much as you would any other A/C and you won't go wrong.
Your colleague Crowman points out that there are only 2 Concordes a day. Well that really is the point, isn't it? How many EGDL outbounds do we see every day heading East? Or EGVN outbounds? Or EGCC outbounds conflicting with LTMA inbounds. These all, I would suggest, cause far more thought and test ones ATC skills to a far greater extent, than TWO Concordes..
Your colleague also points out that it is "easy to criticise others who have the honesty to admit their shortfalls and limits". I am trying to point out that Concorde really presents no more problems, when all is considered, than any other A/C or scenario in the sector. If you want to tackle a real problem, how about 5 A/C converging at GIBSO at 6am when you've been up all night...
The West End is a great sector, and different problems and scenarios are presented every day. It is the ability to use flair and initiative in solving these problems which, surely, make the job so enjoyable. Enjoy these times, cos when we get to NERC, flair and initiative will be things of the past..