Speaking as Pax ... having worked in many fields
other than airlines, I can tell you that the words:
There is an old saying about this industry,
When its Good, Its GREAT,
But when its Bad, Its TERRIBLE.
may be (and are) applied to any other industry!
Across 25 years in telecommunications, mostly as freelance consultant, I have been in: Retail; local govt; finance; pharmaceuticals; utilities; freight (air + sea) and others. Sadly, everyone now feels that:
Workers get screwed and backstabbed by upper management who less and less these days rub shoulders with frontline workers who are the ones who really make or break the airline.
applies to them. The problem is that - it probably does.
Editing later to add this comment:
He bemoaned what he characterised as the "rapacious, soul-less" corporate culture introduced by Mr Eisner, under which long-term public trust and affection had been sacrificed for the sake of short-term financial gain.
Does this sound familiar? It is on BBC news today regarding the Disney corporation and the words are from a nephew of Walt, who has just resigned from the board.