Thanks for email bit. Will check it out.
As for your comments :
i/ NATS will be sold in trade sale, not floated. Hence the argument about share value is not applicable in this case. In addition ERG will regulate profit levels.
ii/ NATS may be a (95%) monopoly in UK. But we already remain fearful of our Euro cousins in terms of National competitiveness, and at more micro level, when comparing LHR/LGW with AMS,CDG,FRA etc. Poor &/or unsafe service will see them reap the rewards.
iii/ It will not be long before it is conceivable that an airline will be able to chose its routing based upon level of service / cost received from that FIR. We already see it to a certain extent with Scandinavian traffic to South/West europe.
iv/ Airline argument is not gibberish. If anything it is more relevant that they are not monopolies. This is becuase pressures are much higher on them to compete, and hence risk much higher that they will operate unsafely.... which it would seem they manage not to do, especially when compared with many other state run airlines (which are in privatisation trend...)
v/ The fact that you mention "self-regulation" demonstrates how close we currently are, and the need for separation (and I might add: privatisation or not)
vi/ Safety argument still uses railtrack as it's prime example, but fails to mention how dissimilar railways and ATC actually are. It is also arguable that Railways were (more) unsafe pre-privatisation....
vii/ Is there anything to thought that real issue is NATS staff worries about their T's & C's and that is prime anti-PPP motivation ?
viii/ Lastly, does SERCO (which I might add may not be best private company in world, but for purpose of discussion) operate unsafely ? I know they don't pay as well, but are they unsafe ? I'm not sufficiently knowledgable about them to comment, but I ask the question nether the less.