New Marketing Strategy, you heard it here first.
Right after 9/11, being CP on one of the not so major carriers, I was asked into one of those stupid 'task force management sessions' with all the pencil pushers and mucky-mucks for a 'run-thru' on 'what else we haven't thought of....'
BicPens were mentioned. After several hours of cow dung blurbs, I got the floor and said how we were approaching the problem from the wrong direction.
I said that we should be the first "All Armed Airline". Every passenger will be issued a 10" Bowie knife, Business Class would get a nickel plated one with a serrated edge, and First Class should get ones with their names engraved. The galleys would be enclosed in Lexan, with a slot to pass snacks and drinks, and the F/A's would be behind the barrier for the duration.
Since the cockpit doors had been 'strengthened' and we were now officially to ignore pleas from the F/A's (sacrificing them), we would do much better having every passenger armed. The briefing would include the instructions that the Pax 'work it out themselves' if something bad was happening.
Kinda like the old joke about the two guys who are camping and a huge bear comes into camp and is going to eat them, one camper stops to put his running shoes on, and says 'All I have to be is faster than you....' to his mate.
All we wanted to do, I said, is make the bad guys go to someone else's airline.....
The room was silent for a full minute.
They never asked me back to another of those stupid meetings.