That is OUR service. And it is OUR reputation that gets stained.
But what can the operational ATC do to give you a better service? Everyone wants the most efficient service, nobody wants to be number two in a dead heat. "It's about the runways - stupid" Is a quote often attributed to ATC efficiency. In Australia it is extremely rare for airspace to reach capacity unlike Europe or the US (except when they are short staffed), but it is often common for the runway requirement rate to exceed capacity.
PTLs are only as good as the compliance. Similarly CTMS times are only as good as the compliance. A small operator into Sydney from regional destinations was caught, when they eventually audited the CTMS program, of intentional and deliberate non-compliance (stated as company policy-internally)... This made the original CTMS seems to be totally flawed. Nobody could understand it such a simple concept cocked up all the time.... The PTLs assigned and/or ground delay times are likely not communicated with the operational ATCs... Then the above mentioned scenarios about only having the 'standard or notified' holding fuel means instant bump up the queue, delaying those otherwise complying or simply 'arriving after' the cheater. Also as mentioned above if the NOC is involved then expect it to be cocked up... Harsh but unfortunately true if the rumors are to be believed.
The same applies to a certain "cheap" Irish carrier who regularly file FL280 to avoid airway delay times in Europe and as soon as they are airborne they ask for FL370. The sector that has the congestion may be 10+ sectors ahead so they get what they want, but it causes problems further down the line. We had advice that we couldn't give any level to them if they didn't plan it because of issues 7 countries away... But most controllers say happy days up you go...
Note the other thread about SY and political interference - CAPTHREAT... Sydney operates somewhere between 25 and 50 movements below capacity in VMC essentially due to noise management. Some LTOP modes are only allowed to be changed when delays exceed a certain cut off figure... This is in the name of service too... Just not to the flying punters/drivers...
FIFO schedules are massive contributors to the bottle necks, but not the only cause. The WA population is still climbing so it's likely to get worse not better. More seats per movement (bigger a/c) will improve things, but how likely is that?