Firstly, apologies for my original outburst.
I was hacked off and slightly intoxicated during my original post, unprofessional I know.
Regardless of what unit
Richard works at, I referred to it as poxy purely cos he couldn't be bothered to tell us. I would have called any unit poxy, EGLL, LTCC, EGPA, LACC etc it was the fact that he gave none that annoyed me.
Flower: Wales has some fine units including 2 NATS ones I believe, no offence meant.
Almost Prof: Non Nats tut tut tut. Only joking! Come join us! Oh and by the way, you are showing your age. LACC has thousands of windows, I can watch the trees swaying in the breeze whilst I vector hundreds of A/C to many fine units.
Roger out: We are not willingly giving away our airspace. The reason, as I am sure you are well aware is that we don't, and will never have enough staff to fully man up all LACC sectors. EGCC and SCATCC however have surplus staff, and unfortunately very few of them offered to come and bail us out when the units were trawled last year, so the airspace has to go in the other direction.
The irony of it is, and I really hope i'm wrong, is that all Area work will be done at LACC within 10 years anyway and all the airspace and all the kicking and screaming ATCO's will be down here plugged in at Swanwick.
Everitt and Michael Bishop(as TAG Group Chairman) said at the time of the PPP that there will less than 10 ACC's in Europe within 10 years. Now let me see, GB and Ireland will still have four of them? I Don't think so!. LACC and maybe Shannon if the IAA (one of our owners in case you had forgotten) and NATS, manage to keep the Oceanic contract. Again this is unlikely as NAVCAN will be bidding for it, and their Oceanic costs to A/C are 60% lower than NATS.
Anyway, off the subject now. Come on
Richard, what was your problem anyway? PAY? Boring, settled now anyway. Overtime, no choice, 60 ATCO's short this year, 65 short next summer after retirees. Our only hope is that no one will work it anyway and it will get forgotten about. Weather, sorry our is better! Parking, yes we have loads. Delays, sorry you will never beat us!!
Live long and prosper!
