CATSA Screener

There's a lot of anger on several of the US boards regarding Air Marshals and how they steal FC seats, stick out like sore thumbs, and generally waste taxpayer money.

Are there any similar issues up here regarding the Mounties that do the same job? Do you think you've spotted some of them?

yyznomad

I didn't know they existed on our domestic flights... there may be some on transborder flights, but I haven't noticed any.. that is, nobody has stuck out like a sore thumb in J...

(is the only reason that they're in J is due to the proximity of the cockpit?)

yyzgigi

As I understood it, you are guaranteed a mountie on any flight to or from DCA, don't think they are any other flights. I always try to guess the Mountie, but don't think that they stick out at all. I try to guess and then usually the person I choose, shows some evidence of not being that person.

I'd also like to know how they get through the secondary screening without giving away their cover.

I suppose if I wanted to find out, I could stand up within 30 minutes of DCA.

acysb87

I have also been on DCA flights and have not noted who the Mountie is.To answer the OP,I don't consider that an issue.

Ask about FA's sitting in J when S/E and E passengers go to the back and that will get you a much stronger response,IMO.

yyznomad

nah... ya think?

either that, or the non-status-tango-fare-closest-to-gate-agent-passenger gets an op up over an SE/E/P/*G who is sitting in Y...

djjaguar64

On my flight from FCO, they had a stern looking guy just standing in he J cabin and stared everyone down, especially me as i had my sunglasses on and my goatee. But he left the plane prior to takeoff.

taupo

Just taking a wild guess, but, maybe their BP has a special code, they show ID, they bypass secondary........any or all of the above?

Shareholder

Always complaining about their upgrades. Maybe they should start buying their seats in the front cabin in the first place rather than relying on upgrades from dirt cheap fares all the time. Of course, most US carriers have also trimmed the number of F seats on their narrow bodied fleets, and there's lots of competition from those connecting onto overseas flights who have already upgraded both their segments. So to blame Air Marshalls who are there to protect them is ludicrous. [Though the airlines have complained of the lost revenue from tying up a seat on each flight.]

The Americans still insist any flights into DCA have an air marshall on board, so I guess AC still complies with a Mountie. I am sure that these men and women do not have to undergo a secondary as it would be rather obvious from the bulge in their jackets...

Maybe the OP can give us some examples from his/her side of the security barrier in this regard?

djjaguar64

And here, silly me, I thought the bulges were always in the pants.

CATSA Screener

I quit my screening job in January 2004 (bad job, bad people) and I don't know how they got through our points as we weren't informed of it. Probably a good idea as some of the people I worked with were about one step removed from the criminal element; no clue how several of them got security clearances with the backgrounds and friends they claimed to have.

tcook052

Sounds like what SYD is going through.

Super Larry

If what you're saying is true, it's pretty worrisome! Not from a terrorist point of view, but from a drug traffic perspective...

pitz

Been on an AC YYZ-YWG flight when they were doing a prisoner transport.

They put the prisoner in, I'd say, a window seat, 25F (A320), and the only empty seats on the entire flight were those in rows directly infront of, and behind the prisoner. A couple plainsclothes officers accompanied the prisoner.

Only realized that it was a prisoner after everyone had gotten up to get off, and the prisoner and his entourage remained put. Apparently they are first to be boarded, and last to be let off -- the airline really prefers that not much attention be brought to the fact that they transport prisoners from time to time.

taupo

I have been on two flights with prisoners, they were shackled, cuffed and escorted by plain clothes Mounties.

CATSA Screener

I didn't see any evidence of anything illegal, it was just their thug-life talk that disgusted me. Hiring practices were rather lacking.

The only actual criminal activity I recall was a young new screener who got caught stealing a $20 bill that had been left behind and put in the found property bin. She was let go on the spot.