[Butch Cassidy Slept Here]

Perhaps, without realizing it, "ChrisH" stated the reason for licensing of gate workers, baggage handlers, and flight attendants: The status quo permits the hiring of anyTHING that is able to sign their name to the job application. Indeed the recent arrest of a Northwest Air flight attendant, on a charge of starting an in-flight fire, tends to support this view. Under the status quo, a staff member who---steals out of checked baggage, makes repeated bogus calls to the police, engages in unwarranted use of cuffs or other restraints in-flight, or files false police reports---faces, essentially, NO consequences. In the remote event a firing occurs, that person can find another airline to work for. Licensing ensures severe misconduct is punished with banning from the ENTIRE INDUSTRY, not just a specific airline. Licensing also guarantees there will be self-discipline. If a picture of the licensed person is included on their badge (similiar to what one sees inside the taxis of New York and other cities); and the license number is in a very large font, the staff member knows misbehavior might result in a report, with the license number of the offender, to the government. Will fares go up? Yes. Perhaps fares will, for the first time since deregulation, more accurately reflect the true cost of operating a flight. Will airlines go out of business? Again, yes. Airlines need to realize that, unlike McDonalds's or Walmart, the operation of a US-based airline is, to a large degree, a public trust. The requirement for a Certificate of Operation reflects this notion. In the context of an airline, the idea of a public trust can encompass the notion that:

* With the exception of bad weather, operations will bear a relationship to the printed timetable;
* There are adequate resources (equipment, aircraft and manpower) available to "recover" operations following a period of bad weather;
* The health of passengers will not be endangered with narrow seat pitches on flights of extended duration; the lack of fresh air being circulated in the cabin while in-flight, and on the ground; or the operation of flights with over-flowing toilets (that last condition should require landing at the nearest airport, if discovered after take-off.)
* Honesty will prevail when it comes to the terms of a given fare; Said terms must be written in "plain speak"--not higher than 8th grade level (the State of New Jersey has, by statute, set this standard for insurance policies)
* Connecting flights must either have realistic connecting times, or not be sold
* Staff, who abuse their authority; steal; extort money from customers ("I want $50 to open the door to the jetway"), or otherwise misbehave, will face REAL consequences.

Hence, the obligation of a holder of a public trust to conduct his business responsibly outweighs the evils connected with unemployment.