I cannot believe that Noggin seriouly thinks that a trial lesson customer considers when they go up that their safety is more at risk than if the FTO had an AOC.
I fly regualrly as a customer on public transport aircraft and as an part time instructor for an FTO with public cat C of A aircraft. Hopefully I have not in doing so been putting my sfaety at risk.
If what you say is correct, then we should be quantifying the risk, and informing customers of the relative risks of flying with an FTO/RTF and an AOC, so that they can make an informed choice about whether they want to go on a trial lesson.
God help us all if we are forced down that route, removing us even further from the realms of common sense.