flyingfemme
Eurocontrol charges are pretty steep, especially in/from the UK. They are also calculated using the square root of the aircraft weight; so Ryanair, using smaller, short-haul aircraft pay more per tonne than BA using a jumbo for long haul (for example). Not too different to the current rail situation here in the UK, where the track is owned centrally and the operating companies pay to use it.
Many thanks for that and the devil will be in the detail. One has read in this website, of alternative routes being used to lower such costs, even at the expense of more fuel.
I certainly agree with your view "You have to admire the man; he's a superb player." Yes, he has done to the whole of European aviation what Murdoch did to UK newspapers and TV. Incidentally, in another thread (the inevitable BA + BAA!) someone suggested that WW was grooming himself to take over from MoL. That is never going to happen because MoL will never step down. He will either be Chariman at the boardroom table until he dies of old age, or he will die in harness as CEO. His kind of driven man never step down and that is said with no anger or rancour. The man is brilliant at what he does and I try not to use his services.