srjumbo--Not to thread hijack but you are off base on travel in the US. The planes are relatively full. (Most people are figuring there will be another successful attack on US soil but the odds are good that they won't be affected.)
The financial problems are with the companies that have high debt loading and higher-than-LCC costs. ATA is the exception to that and they have other problems.
There are more travellers now than before 9/11--they are just paying 25% less than before.TC