Originally Posted by ShyTorque
Porco Rosso, two points on that quote. The pilot in Class G is under no legal obligation to make RTF contact with an adjacent ATC agency (this is what the original point was all about). If he does opt to make contact, it is up to him to request a service and he retains the option to refuse a service or instruction. No pilot with an ounce of common sense would refuse an ATC instruction if safety were the issue. Unfortunately, it appears that GA is increasingly disadvantaged by delays / holding / re-routing for purely commercial considerations of airlines.
I wouldn't necessarily consider it purely commercial considerations.
Is the safest option a minor re-route or maybe an orbit for a one ton aircraft at 90 knots or a two hundred ton aircraft at 250 knots?
The latter covers an awful lot of countryside.
Someone has to make the decision, whichever way the atco goes the other side will think they were disadvantaged so it's a lose/lose situation for ATC.