Zones,
i) NATS may be sold in a trade sale. If so it will be bought by a PLC. Which will be listed on the markets. No matter how small a proportion of the buyer NATS is it will still have an effect. It will be also listed on a specialist market so that employees shares have a "value".
ii) To view our European colleagues as competitors is nonsense. They will not ensure safety as they will only get thier chance if we are unsafe. IE if we have a atc fault incident.
NATS may lose the area "franchise" but in reality this is rubbish and you know it.
iii) Hmmmm state run versus private. I think you are reffering to the Air Chinas of this world versus BA. What about Valujet? China and Aeroflot are unsafe due lack of cash. Valujet was premeditated - that is what a profit motive can do - and the FAA is hardly spineless.
Serco pay quite well. In places better than NATS. AS for unsafe I wouldn't like to comment. Their standard eqipment fit for a/d ATC is pretty low so that would not be an issue. (more is the problem - Bill and Roy believe SSR is not a safety issue. Although that view has changed recently I believe). I've heard they are a bit lax with SCRATCOH. But that would be the ATCO's fault in your regulated world.
[This message has been edited by intentionally blank (edited 30 November 1999).]