Very interesting, the implications of the above discussion. Assuming another generation of TCAS improvement, including lateral maneuvering & long-range forcasting, might the logic of this tragic incident lead to:
After having exited airport traffic zones (and other Very High Traffic Areas, TCA's etc, where very rapid situational changes can only be predicted by Tower and Approach/Departure Control personnel), aircraft might fly random (destination direct?) tracks AND flight levels, and let TCAS provide ALL ATC, so that conflicts such as recently occurred are resolved by one, AND ONLY ONE, authority? Granted, TCAS needs a lot of improvement, but the recent accident might lead to this conclusion (especially with potential long-range improved forecasting abilities of TCAS). Having flown for over 30 years trusting ATC implicitly, my very fibre rebels at the thought, but logically, it IS a big sky, and organized airways & Flight Levels just funnel aircraft into each other. Right offsets (another thread here) are an attempt to de-funnelize the sky; might random flight levels also help? Sounds weird, but logical.