Originally Posted by Shareholder

This is a rather expensive way (and I don't mean AC's and WS's foregone revenue from not being able to sell a seat, or having to bump someone) of handling difficult passengers. Such incidents happen from time to time and are dealt with by crew and passengers. There's no need for an armed RCMP undercover officer on these or any flights. Crews have been trained on how to restrain such unruly passengers. As for "weapons" I suppose a cork screw could be deadly, though I've noticed on wide bodies AC uses those mounted devices, and increasingly wines are coming in screw top bottles. And yes, J class metal knives have been back for years, but nobody's been attacked with one. As for coffee pots, suppose that's one of the reasons FAs don't like us to hang around the galley waiting to use the washroom.

Much has changed since Air Marshal's were put back on planes after 9.11. It's like maintaining land lines when cell phones have pretty much usurped their purpose for the most part. And as I've noted earlier, flight decks are now secured with hardened locked doors, and ground screening is many more times improved (for all its theatre) since 9.11 . Air Marshals were introduced as a valid inflight protection when none of this was the norm. Such security starts well before getting to the airport, or even through security screening.