D Ramapriya wrote

But the point about LNAV (PROFILE in Airbuses) remains - why had the
A320's FMC not commenced descent from TOD unless these coves had left
open the option of manual initiation?

Ramapriya,...you have no concept of the airway congestion that we have
here in the USofA compared to the Middle East. I don't think that ATC
would even consider having all of those airliners autonomously starting
descent.

BTW, what is a "cove"? My "Webster's" doesn't seem to know either.

Bob Moore