Flight Dispatchers
Thankyou, "nosig", for your very interesting response (and to everyone else who has responded).
I got the impression, at the EUFALDA meeting, that they also feel it is more to do with training and the accreditation that would go with a standardised approach to that accross the whole of Europe. They appeared to think that the FAA-style dispatch system (shared responsibility) could not be forced - but might come about eventually anyway, if pilots felt that a properly trained dispatcher always gave a better (and safer) service.
They did, however, bring up the IATA "Operational Safety Audit" (IOSA), which is designed to assess the operational management and control systems of an airline - and which will impact on European operators once EASA start to require it. Standardised and consistent levels of training will then have to be accepted by all.
It seems, from the responses, that there is some UK interest and that maybe something needs to be done to start the ball rolling. Question is, who and how?