Just a few things to consider from the flightdeck perspective which haven't been covered before:
a) Your fellow controllers in nearby FIRs are not as good as you are. By simply asking Spanish ATC for a direct at times you can knock off 60nm. They rarely seem to offer them but frequently can when requested. Some nations controllers do not provide the situational awareness and extra pieces of info that British ones do and it is prudent to ask about holds and speeds and such and such. You often spend the majority of the day in non-UK airspace and you often have to do a little of the ATCO's jobs for them (I know that will make you bristle but its true). You become aware that the aircraft 6 miles ahead and 2000ft above is going to the same destination and you offer to slow down 100nm before descent in order to make the arrival flow better. There are dozens of similar scenarios. The point is - its sometimes hard to adjust back to the UK environment where service levels are high, RT loading is busier and airspace more complex. I think that my RT changes between FIRs. German, Dutch, British - I'll keep quieter, be more ICAO standard, expect fewer directs and expect to pretty much follow the SID/STAR. In Southern Europe this might be less so. I think this is a factor which causes occasional lapses where pilots have still got their Italian RT heads on when back in the UK.
b) The average experience levels on the flightdecks have decreased. With all the expansion in recent years there are always going to be about 10% of the FO's who are in their first year of operation. They'll start Standard but as time goes on, confidence grows, experience and knowledge remain low and so you get some eyebrow raising RT at times. This improves with time and your patience is appreciated.
c) I've used the "we're two hours late tonight - is there any chance..." preface myself when seeking a direct. By doing so I am NOT trying to say "I have a good reason for wanting this so I expect you to really try hard to give it to me". What I AM trying to say is "I know I shouldn't be asking for this, please don't take it the wrong way but I'm asking today when I normally don't because...". So I think you getting irate by the "we're running late" preface is totally the opposite result to that which is intended by the pilot. He's really trying to say "sorry for pestering". Communication being a highly imperfect skill in us all at times.
d) RT technology is ridiculously poor. Why in 2006 are we still using analogue radio which can be stepped on, receives breakthrough, can be jammed and requires the correct readback of a 6 digit number? Its madness, it contributes greatly to fatigue and is one of the worst areas of technical safety in modern aviation. We should all be using noise cancelling headsets as well.
e) Everyone has a bad RT say now and again. Don't take it personally as I don't think there are two professions that work so closely together with such consistent aims in such a professional way and yet never meet one another. I've never had an ATCO on my jumpseat since 911 which means none of the FO's I fly with ever have. I've been lucky to spend some time in Bournemouth radar room and a couple of military towers and been an AirGround airfield monkey. Many people flying large jets have never received any RT instruction beyond their PPL course. There really ought to be a regulatory requirement for us to have a day per year rostered into a radar room. It would be far far more valuable than being shown how to open the door every year and how a fire extinguisher still works.
Cheers
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