"Let them do their jobs"? What, sitting in a first-class seat and flying from place to place? Pretty hard to stop them from doing that. Do they have another job that I'm missing?

Bruce

Welcome to Flyertalk ^ and if I may....

Spotting a FAM or "playing spot the FAM" is one thing....Outing a FAM :td: is a completely different story and I feel sorry for anyone that does that.

Are you really that naive to what this program is all about? See the sad thing is that the flying public only knows what the media tells them.....and worse....they believe it all! Those who believe that these guys aren't putting it on the line every day in my book should be given a smack upside the head. It's not about what they do every day, it's about what they might have to do. Do you want to take your chances with passengers on a plane running to the fight when the majority usually run away from it? I, for one, will pay 10x's the amount that this program costs to make sure that my loved ones are being protected while they travel.

Do you honestly think they will stop somebody from doing something malicious onboard? We've seen from the last few "incidents" that normal pax like you and me rise up to the occasion to thwart any attack. Take the undie bomber. He was sitting in Y, while a FAM would be sitting in F. What do you think the reaction time would be for the FAM, vs. a pax sitting in Y?

:rolleyes:

Thanks for the smile and laugh today ^

Let me guess - you watch FOX news and believe it too.

Well actually I know a few of these guys and after talking to them.....YES, I do believe that if something malicious is onboard then they will take care of business. From what I'm told they sit everywhere in the plane. Not just First Class. I think its hard to assess their usefulness until they are on every plane rather than a small percentage of them. Then when somebody like the underwear guy tries to do what he does, you'll see whether these guys are worth their money. I think that this program, in and of itself, is a deterrent for many terrorist groups. This is probably why terrorist have moved from taking the cockpit to trying to blow up the plane.

Funny that they are fighting the potential loss of sitting in F on their flights...

[QUOTE=bocastephen;15464035]Thanks for the smile and laugh today ^

Let me guess - you watch FOX news and believe it too.[/QUOY

Yes! And I believe in Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny too. Is there some sort of evidence, that you are sitting on, that would prove me wrong in my beliefs about this agency??:confused:

From what I heard they aren't fighting it. The airlines are lobbying to change a policy that's been in place for years in order to gain a couple bucks in lost revenue. Read the news about it. Don't assume you know the whole story.

right back at you. The FAMs are a humongous waste of money.

HOW.....DO.......YOU..........KNOW??? Is there some sort of information that you are in possession of that you refuse to share??? I'm trying to get all the information here. If I'm wrong I will, by all means, submit to you but so far all you've done is make a ton of hollow statements. WAIT.....answer me this......do you think the CIA is a waste of money?

I'm sure the hardened cockpit doors and policy of non-negotiation with airborne threats has nothing to do with it either... the guys who are going to kill themselves are afraid a FAM will kill them... :rolleyes:

You don't think it makes a difference if one person stops a "terrorist" before he completes his objective??? :rolleyes: Man, you people need to wake up and realize how much terrorism affects society. If a terrorist doesn't complete his objective of martyring himself and spends the rest of his life rotting in a prison cell then I guarantee they will not use the same tactics again. They will adjust themselves accordingly. Its good publicity for a terror group to complete their objective. Al Qaeda wouldn't be the group that they are now if it wasn't for Sept 11th. honestly, did you even know who they were before Sept 11th??

So you think a FAM won't kill a terrorist attempting to blow up an aircraft?

The evidence is no secret - not a single act by a FAM that resulted in protecting passengers from harm - the passengers have done all of the work every time something strange happens on board. Every single time. My favorite example is the Delta flight with the crazy girl who tried to bang her way into the flight deck - passengers and crew grabbed and subdued her and the incident was over before the FAMs even got out of their seats. Their response? To stand at the front of the cabin like bozos until landing.

What have the FAMs done?

1) multiple instances of weapons being left in inappropriate places, including aircraft lavs

2) FAMs involved in illegal activities, from rape to threatening to shoot someone over a parking space

3) FAMs murdering a mentally unstable person in Miami

4) FAMs threatening to shoot innocent passengers because someone looked at them funny

Hundreds of millions of taxpayer money spent, millions lost by airlines (thanks to lost F revenue) and not one single instance of a FAM protecting an aircraft or the ground from a legitimate threat.

Why? The threat is actually under the floor - not in the cabin.

That's all the proof I need.

No, I think a FAM will aim to stop the terrorist from doing anything that is detrimental to us, as passengers on the airplane. If "stop" means "kill" then so be it. Just saying that if a FAM succeeds in stopping a terrorist, it will change terror tactics in the future.