Songbird, I think you may have misunderstood me.
either a telephone coordination (as advocated by Chesty M) leaving the pilot out of the game
That's not what I meant. As a pilot, on an initial call to you, I am supposed to tell you my heading if I'm on one. I don't, or
shouldn't, need you to tell me to say it, it's part of standard speak.
The other option is asking the pilot to report the a/c heading on the next freq which is I'd think a minor workload detail for a pilot, certainlly at cruise altitude.
I agree but, it shouldn't be necessary, we should be telling you anyway.
If you keep telling us to report our heading we will (should!). When you don't tell us to report our heading, unfortunateley, most people wont because you haven't told them to. This is wrong.
Tackling the root cause of this problem is the only way to stop it happening. And that means educating us pilots.
Unfortunateley it's a vicious circle. We don't tell you our heading ('cause we're crap, lazy or don't know we should); you have to tell us to; when you don't tell us to; we don't tell you; so you have to tell us to...