Sorry I was a bit vague
The original question was -
does the passing level ALWAYS has to be included ( during climb and descend )
Which was what my answer was referring to. You should give your cleared level on initial call to any sector and also include passing level to the first sector - but if I am not first sector to be honest I am more interested in the point you are navigating to !! If you are mode S compliant we see your selected level and the level you are maintaining so if they don't differ then we are happy
