"I've always thought a buddy system was a good idea. Everyone watching the people sitting beside them. I guess 2 terrorist next to each other wouldn't work though."
Let's take that a step further...how about instituting random seating in addition to a "buddy" system? One would get a seat number literally as one entered the plane - no complaints - take it or leave it. Any earlier and people would try to trade.
You could have your boarding pass ahead in order to pass security and get to the gate, but no advance seat number; they would be generated randomly.
So what if couples don't get to sit together? No necessity there.
The only people that would need to sit together would be an infant or young child up to the age of perhaps 10 and one of his parents. The other parent would sit elsewhere. The number of accompanying young children would be divided by the number of parents and one group of kids would seat in the seats near each parent.
No trading of seats would be allowed.
Occasionally two people travelling together might wind up together under this system, but the chances would be slim. Terrorists surely could not count on it.
A ticket holding slot (as on a train) could be added to seats so one's ticket number plastic row and seat designator permanently printed in large characters - the one that was given to you when you entered the plane - would need to be displayed for the flight attendants and other passengers to see.
No more concept of the early bird getting the best seat. Getting a window or aisle seat is not a life or death matter, but increasing the odds of getting there is.
Quite often people travel with elderly parents, handicapped relatives, others that may need help in flight.
I have a two year old and 8 mos old twins. What would I do? Hope for a friendly person sitting next to us to help out while my husband sits in another part of the plane? The only thing to do is profile passengers, and that will never happen so we are all at risk.
Let's take that a step further...how about instituting random seating in addition to a "buddy" system? One would get a seat number literally as one entered the plane - no complaints - take it or leave it. Any earlier and people would try to trade.You could have your boarding pass ahead in order to pass security and get to the gate, but no advance seat number; they would be generated randomly.
So what if couples don't get to sit together? No necessity there.
All this nonsense why???? Oh, right -- to avoid OFFENDING Muslim males between the ages of 17 and 45.
Yeah, makes perfect sense to me. Make the HELL that air travel has become even more of a nightmare... offend everyone ELSE, to avoid offending TROP minions.
Riiiiiight.
Is this a plot created in the smoke-filled back rooms of the fuel refinery and distribution corporations, in order to boost gasoline sales as even more people swear off air travel for the comfort of their own automobiles?
Radical but sensible. Too sensible to happen.