Hi 5miles
Valid questions. I'll explain some more I guess, and no Im not a journo!
I'm not 'in the right channels' - for me, pprune is the right channel for this initial request.
The ATC provider I work has little interest from a management perspective in chasing this issue. This is also the case for some of the other ATCOs that I have been discussing this with privately. I presume you are with NATS and maybe they are a little more proactive in getting something done about it.
We are interested in trying to set something up but the problem is that approaching management and saying, 'I'd like to organise a fam flight' is met with the response - 'Thats not possible anymore' - and they aren't going to look into it any further.
I think the main reason for the lack of concern at mgt level is that, like everything else, safety is not the priority. The priority is to cover their arse by making sure that Standard Ops manuals for ATC (mats etc.) are up to speed and if you don't do what it says there then you can be hung out. But being proactive and seeking to broaden controller experience in other outlets like fam flights is not a priority.
So, we want to see which airlines are helpful with fam trips, and then we can go back to our companies and at that stage at least we know who to tell them to contact. If that fails, then we may try and organise it directly ourselves.
Hope that shows where Im coming from.
Cheers!
BR