I wonder why they feel the need to make airways class A airspace? I would rather fly cross channel at 8000' than at 3000', but unfortunately as I don't have a JAA IR, my ceiling is limited to 3499' (where I live anyway). Should be Class A above a certian FL, for example FL100, and below this something else, or have an excemption in place allowing IMC holders into airways, but not nescessarily other class A airspace.
Other jurisdictions have class A above 17999 MSL, low level airways class E, and transponders required above 10000 MSL. Seems to work fine, but attitudes to recreational pilots differ in different parts of the world.
Class A airways and to the surface is assinine, it would make more sense to use Class B. Even a mere VFR PPL could then request a clearance into the Class B and if workload permitted it ATC could oblige. You could then do your cross channel trip more safely, and isn't that what it's all about?
As an aside, I was on a 777 recently with those moving maps, and I was watching the altitude and distance from the destination (a class B airport in the US). At one point, the 777 was below 10,000 MSL and outside the 30nm Class B Mode C veil.
That means a large transport jet was in airspace where a non-transponder equipped fabric plane could legally be flying. Although the US system's use and classification of airspace makes far more sense than the UK, I'm not sure about that one.