TheRev:-
You miss one major point the programme was trying to make, which is that there are a significant number of regional airports in the UK that have very limited or non-existent access to the airways, and that we have to go off-airways to get to and from those airports.
Were all airlines to keep to controlled airspace at all times, the operating costs of many routes would immediately make them totally unviable as a commercial prospect.
As the person interviewed, who skippered that flight through the Vale of York, yes, I could have told the company that I didn't intend to fly that route, and intended to route down the NORCA to GASKO and then head off to STN. They would probably have decided they could function quite nicely without my assistance. In my (fairly long) career I have had a few airmisses. The instance discussed in the programme was one of the hairiest, and was caused by a foreign mil. pilot who didn't understand the rules of operation of UK airspace.
My backside was saved by a Pennine controller who was very much on the ball (as they always were) who gave me a very good service. I thanked him at the time for his very professional service, and sent another message of thanks through our ops later.
I suggest that you save your criticism of airlines and pilots for a time when you have accumulated a little knowledge of how the system works.