You also forgot to mention UAL's three years in bankruptcy and look at their situation today, no better than when they entered bankruptcy years ago... As long as this country remains a capitalistic one-- the weak will fail and the strong will survive... My opinion is the same for Detroit-- we shouldn't be bailing out weak companies who have inferior products because that being said, GM and Toyota sold the same number of vehicles last year 9.2 million- but GM lost Billions and Toyota made several billion. The difference between the two companies? One is union the other is not. One builds products people are willing to purchase, the other one does not. If Detroit is going to survive, there will have to be mergers, maybe even a bankruptcy reorganization to tool their plants and work force for a more competitive environment.
ALPA had it's chance to shine years ago. It failed.
The pendulum WILL swing.
My personal opinion is that if you take a 20 year phugoid, we're at the bottom swinging up.
Enjoy!