<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Get rid of first class!
Putting an end to preferential treatment for the jet set will help thwart hijackers and save the environment.
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By Dennis Riches
Oct. 16, 2001 | There is one simple measure that could do much to thwart future hijacking attempts: eliminate class distinctions in airline travel. Abolish first class.
It is clear that not only in the recent hijackings, but in almost all attacks on the cockpits of aircraft, terrorists have taken great advantage of the extra space, low occupancy and privacy of the first-class area.
The attacks of Sept. 11 made it well-known that hijackers prefer flying first class, and this in itself might do much to make even the most hardened, comfort-craving snobs want to sit at the back of the plane with the commoners. The hijackers bought first-class tickets because they knew airline staff would be unlikely to treat first-class passengers with suspicion, and they would be able to move freely and have few people to control. They may even have murdered members of the crew and taken over the cockpit before anyone behind the curtains in coach class knew what was happening.
If regular coach passengers were seated as far forward as possible it would create a crowded area near the cockpit that hijackers could not easily gain control of. But such a modus operandi is probably the airlines' worst nightmare, given what we know about how heavily they rely on their business- and first-class customers to make a profit.
First-class travel is objectionable for many reasons, not just security implications. I fly frequently, and before Sept. 11 I often wondered why we still tolerate a few people having the extra leg room, champagne and massages of premium air travel. Why, in our supposedly enlightened era, do we still see the youngest and most attractive flight attendants catering to an elite class of mostly older, male clients? Even if this is not quite the reality, it is certainly the imagery thrust at us by industry advertising for business- and first-class seating.
http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/20....../index.html
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