Jay Honeck wrote:

Since we haven't heard the airliner SAY they wanted an instrument
approach, how/why does the controller know to clear them for anything
other than the visual approach?

Use of an instrument approach simplifies establishing an arrival sequence.


So this choice is entirely up to the controller?

Seems like a giant pain for the flight crew, to have to keep all the various
approach plates, etc., at hand. (I'm assuming the commuter airlines we
usually hear don't have the sophisticated flight controllers on-board, with
all the pre-loaded approaches ready to be punched in at a moment's notice?)

The airlines have the plates for the airports that that particular type
of aircraft will fly into. For example we have Northwest fly here into
Billings. We get DC9's and Airbuses. NWA 747 pilots do not carry
approach plate for BIL. When the normal NWA flights show up they will
always fly the localizer and glide slope, they are required to if it is
available. Doesn't mean they fly the ILS it just means they must follow
those navaids.