This is getting interesting ;
LowvisRTO, thanks for the info on the 3 AP on CATIII, I was not aware of that. Indeed a big difference. However they will all 3 still be following an ILS signal, which is my opinion still the weakest link of the whole procedure.
Capn Bloggs : I agree with your last comment (not a question of “if” but “when” ) I think that with the next collision, the AP will most probably be mandated.
Magnet 77 : more training is the solution : we tried that, but it does not work, we are now more than 10 years after implementation and the percentage of “TCAS pilot errors” is still abnormally high. And , with TCAS you need everyone in the loop ( i.e. including the guy in front of you that you do not know ) trained with the same standards all around the world. Very , very difficult to accomplish.
Finally on the version 7.1 ( if they decide to call it that way ) my last info was that the FAA was against making it mandatory. ( as they would have to pay for it and they do not have a budget for this, plus some lawyers said that mandating a new version would be an admission that the previous versions were not safe , etc.. ) The European might do it , but not the USA.(in fact a repeat of the version 7.0 debate )
Whether this retrofit will be free (paid by Eurocontrol ?) or for a fee ( paid by the aircraft operator) is still under debate. But , the next collision will probably settle that issue as well. Sad, very sad.