Intial call to french ATC
Very often when you check in with a French ATC-facility the conversation goes like this:
Plane: "Marseille, Bonjour, Airliner123, FL360 to ATN"
ATC: "Airliner123, bonjour, maintain Fl 360, proceed direct to ATN"
Since his reply is an instruction I have to reply again:
"Airliner123, maintaining FL360 to ATN"
(Exactly what I already told him in my initial call)
This causes unnecessary frequency occupation.
This is something typically French. In almost all other countries the ATC will reply with "airliner123, good morning, radarcontact" (or similar) when they don't issue a new instruction and this doesn't need acknowledgment from my side.
Sometimes I will reply to such a French ATC facility by saying.
"Yes, I confirm, we were already enroute to ATN at FL360"
I don't know what the reason for this French procedure is, but if it is a requirement for the controller to do so... they should change the procedure in my opinion.
Any french air traffic controller here that cares to comment?
Sabenaboy