IMHO, if today's airways were designed in 1991, like far too many Government projects, the specs used were from 1958.
The following is copied from a similar thread on the main board.
FACT: the laws that govern our airways use were drafted in a time when tracking was done with VAR/radio range, ADF or VORs.
FACT: the vast majority of jet aircraft using today's airways are equipped ith some form of precision tracking aid like INS, IRS or GPS.
FACT: the human element is still in there somewhere, and humans, even the most professional, make mistakes.
FACT: in the days of VAR and ADFs, two aircraft flying on reciprocal tracks at the same level on the same airway had a better chance of BOTH being struck by lightning at the same instant in time than of hitting (or even seeing!) each other.
FACT: with GPS navigation, the same no longer applies. Two aircraft flying at the same level on opposite tracks will fly within a wingspan of each other and their altimeters now HAVE to be so accurate (to be allowed to fly within RVSM airspace) that they WILL be within 50' of each other (ie, they won't miss vertically either). They WILL hit each other unless timely (ie, very rapid and juts as importantly, CORRECT) avoiding action is taken by BOTH pilots. The tragic midair between the DHL freighter and the CIS passenger aircraft over southern Germany some years ago proved that that cannot be relied upon.
These lead me to a final FACT: it's well past the time that someone in authority bit the bullet and accepted that technology has overtaken the rules we work under. We simply HAVE to accept that even with all the high tech safeguards that have been introduced, all the holes in the cheese can still tragically align, as they seem to have done so in this case.
It's time we re-design our airways to accommodate a small right offset, at least in the cruise phase.
... and 'someone in authority' will only act after there's an outcry from the professional pilot group that is so loud and long lasting it cannot be ignored.