It sucks for many reasons, not least of which are:
1. Disgruntled staff / burned-out staff/zero turnover at the top of seniority lists at the majors/zero fresh faces
2. complete lack of investment in new aircraft/amenities/interiors
3. squandering of billions on silly pet projects...eg: TWA purchase by Don Carty
4. Government interference/lobbying by 'interested parties'
5. The 'expect everything for nothing' culture in the USA
6. 9/11
7. Chapt. 11 responsibility-dodging
There's something else that's hard to explain, but basically it amounts to a near-universal collapse of morale in the industry. The executive compensation issues of the past 3 years have really, really exascerbated the lack of enthusiasm in staff, and in a service industry, that's fatal. It seems to many of the employees that the sh1t sandwiches just keep coming, with no respite, and no sympathy from a justifiably angry public.
Managers had a brief window of opportunity during the last 2 years to make meaningful strides in morale and service, but totally missed the shot; many Wall St analysts, however, have not missed the fact that gross mismanagement of HR issues is coming home to roost. I've never before worked with staff who want to shut their airline down, permanently. They're just waiting for release to self-help. Amazing....it's the British-Rail-of-the-Air...
It is very possibly the worst managed industry in the USA at present, and that takes in some ground.
