"Reason I ask is that Zurich Information for example which should primarily be a light aircraft VFR service is regularly swamped by high altitude overflying cheap Brit airline crews asking for (usually) Italian actuals. Don't they have ACARS or is this another cost cutting trick?"
Prat. Of course it's a matter of cost - ACARS equipment, like all other aircraft parts, especially avionics, isn't cheap. There is a useage charge everyime you send a message to ops or get the weather, too. While we'd all like it to be fitted, the costs on a fleet of 150 aircraft (and rapidly increasing) are significant.
However, your insistance that the FI frequencies are for the use of light aircraft only shows your basic lack of airmanship and crass stupidity. The amount of times I change over to an approach frequency at a major airport, which is specifically for the use of aircraft landing there, and can't establish an approach in good time because some **** in a light aircraft is demanding RIS from a large airport's ATC in CAVOK conditions is inumerable, and as was said, Guard seems very congested with incompetent PPL holders getting lost in 20k vis.
Last edited by Whippersnapper; 26th Jun 2007 at 07:58.