Oh, stop it. I wasn't referring to an issue on which opinions might differ; I was talking about facts! Either the airlines get paid for air-marshal seats or they don't. This is a factual question with a definite answer. It is way beyond inconceivable that an airline CEO -- let alone two of them from competing carriers -- would lie about something like this.

Suppose they were lying. How long would it take before some government bill-payer stood up with the cancelled check and said, "Didn't your company receive this payment for air-marshal seats, Mr. CEO? You cashed the check." You just can't lie about something for which the facts are easily determinable.

Face it, already. The airlines do not get paid for air-marshal seats. The law doesn't provide for payment. At least two airline CEOs have testified that their companies are not paid, and the cost of carrying air marshals for free, usually in premium seats, is a serious financial burden. Some here may want to believe that this is some sort of unsolved mystery, just like some people insist on believing in "intelligent design" or even that the Earth is flat. It just ain't so. End of story.

Bruce