No More First Class for Air Marshals?

You never know when a federal air marshal might be on your flight, but if one is riding along, this much is almost certain: He or she is in first class. But that may be changing, if the airlines have anything to say about it, the Wall Street Journal reports.

The reason air marshals ride in style is that it's important that they be as close as possible to the cockpit in the event there's a threat to the flight, according to the Federal Air Marshal Service. "Our distinction isn't for a free ride in a fluffy seat," Nelson Minerly, a FAMS spokesman told the Journal. "It's based on threat and tactical doctrines."

But the airlines say that in the post-9/11 world, with cockpit doors reinforced, many of the threats to flights come from the coach cabin and don't involve trying to burst into the cockpit. Maybe, they say, it would be better to have air marshals back there to keep an eye out for would-be terrorists before they strike. Of course, that would conveniently also mean the airlines wouldn't have to give up a first-class seat that otherwise might be occupied by a paying customer.

(Hat tip: BoingBoing)