TSA to ban first class in the USA.

[NG_Kaptain]

Just received the following. Now the first class cabin is a terrorist threat!!!



*** TSA Pulling the Curtain

Time -- That annoying curtain separating
first class from coach on most airplane
flights may be facing its own final
curtain. The Transportation Security
Administration (TSA), which oversees
viation security, has told the airlines
that it wants the barrier removed
permanently, to allow cabin crews and
federal air marshals (FAMs) to see the
entire cabin. Some airlines are not
thrilled with the move, which could
happen by the end of the month. Much
of their profit comes from passengers
paying high first-class fares, and the
companies are afraid of doing anything
to alienate those premium flyers.
http://airlinebiz.com/wire/03032003#MAIN (See Full Story!)

[Leclairage]

Not sure it will discourage premium travellers, who in Europe often seem to get off on looking smugly during loading/unloading at those who have simply written a smaller cheque (or who havent had the benefit of a company to write the cheque on their behalf), and are forced to sit at the back and suffer even more cramped conditions and inadequate catering!
The lack of a scrap of material separating the two cabins is more likely to become a problem ro cabin crew, repeatedly asked by the economy rabble if they can have a newspaper, hot towel or whatever as supplied to the 'better' class of SLF who have simply paid more.

One of the reasons the low cost, one-class airlines have taken so much traffic from the premium option carriers is because business travellers whose companies will only pay cattle class prefer the great leveler of a single class cabin.

[Algy]

with the benefit of hindsight, it seems amazing that it took them so long to think of this!

[penltbx2]

It is kind of amazing since TSA means:
T-Thousands
S-Standing
A-Around
Obviously their curtains at the security lines WILL NOT be coming down anytime soon or at all.

[GlueBall]

Next step might include locked doors on forward lavatories. First Class pax would have to ask cabin crew for the key to enter.

[Onan the Clumsy]

No, the next step will be bulletproof doors between first and coach.

[newarksmells]

NG_Kaptain

A very misleading thread. All they plan on doing is taking the curtain down. How does this relate to eliminating 1st class which is what your post suggests?

Newark

[Pnooze]

Streuth, American paranoia reaches new levels!!
I fly across the Atlantic twice per week and as much as i love the good ol US of A i always have a good laugh at the airport security. The standards vary so much from IAD , JFK, EWR, MCO, etc, not to mention the politeness level. From what i have seen since 9/11 the standards have just about reached that which was in place in the UK before 9/11, let alone since. A ******* lunatic is not going to be put off by the first class curtain, in fact, i believe most of the hijackers were in first anyway. If i was a suicidal ******* i would sit in first class as well. Wouldn"t you??
:D

[Scottie]

What amazed me in MCO this week is that security now requires all hold baggage to be left unlocked or risk having the bag locks broken whilst the TSA do a search though it.

Maybe the TSA should visit the UK where if they find something they're not sure about they get the pax and have them open it.

[Groaner]

Maybe some enterprising airline will think of having a transparent curtain instead - to retain the physical/psychological barrier.

Maybe some of the 1st-class pax will pay even more to be able to see the thunderous looks from the back of the plane?

[Squawk7777]

I was told today by friends that in RIC the TSA plans to check the pax credit card history. It was reported on local news - I think they mentioned RIC Fox. It is planned to start with Delta next month. :eek:

What's next? Pax fingerprints? Welcome to 1984...

7 7 7 7

[OldAg84]

Anything that makes it more difficult....or helps catch potential terrorists, I'm for.

profiling
credit card history
etc.

If the 92- year old Norwegian grandmother paid cash and that sets off alarm bells, so be it. But to just search her randomly doesn't seem to make much sense to me.

Squawk- if you are "operating" in the public venue and there is a security issue, then you are open to public scrutiny. 1984ish, unfortunately not, because 1984 was before 9/11/01.

[Just an other number]

OldAg84

I trust you are familiar with George Orwell's novel '1984'?

[OFBSLF]

Just received the following. Now the first class cabin is a terrorist threat!That's a very misleading statement. All they want to do is remove the curtain so that air marshals seated in first class can see the pax in coach.

There's nothing in this statement about eliminating first class nor about the first class cabin being a threat. They just don't like the curtain. And I think Groaner has nailed it. A transparent curtain like those sold for showers just might do the trick. I wonder if they can make one that is flame retardent?

[stargazer02]

Well my tuppence is that it shouldn't make any difference since FAM's travel in all classes both domestically and internationally so therefore have a full view of the cabin
Also most potential hijackers just don't sit in one place if you do you can be contained even accidently by say a drinks trolley so i guess that's why the FAM's are throughout the cabin.
They don't just all sit at the back...so that's really a non issue.
Also Federal Air Marshalls are not part of TSA's.
TSA's are mainly in the airports whereas the FAM's are attached to the dept of Justice.....i may be corrected but that's what i'm lead to believe.

Also passenger profiling has been in place on most US carriers long before 9/11 so should a ticket be purchased on the day or day before then the pax become subject to certain restrictions.
I can't divulge the security restrictions behind it but safe to say that it is thorough and has been in place for atleast 10yrs.

This thread just seems to becoming a bashing on who bought what ticket and also is misleading from the start.
First class is a high yield market and any airline who decides to finish with it(if not a low cost carrier) is pretty much killing their own golden goose.

[Balthazar]

Looks like it's curtains (or not) for the elite in first class.

There's so much more crap floating around that I can't really get excited over this.

[RevMan2]

OK, so we remove the curtain.
And what do we do about the (non-transparent) galley/washroom blocks?

Xray goggles for the Sky Marshals?