Fortunately it's not as bad this side of the ocean. I certainly hope it stays like that.
What isn't as bad?
Despite what the Low Cost Carriers and even the press in Europe would have you believe, Southwest is an airline with no equivalent in Europe (or America). Southwest is a model for all, but nobody can pull it off - and it's all down to attitude of the employees from top down (and also sensible fare structures for the businessman, on time record, frequency of flights, reward scheme etc).
Security in the US is still of a lower standard and less intrusive than it was before 9/11 in Europe, IMO.! Flying in Europe is extremely frustrating compared to the US.
The article was about how despite the problems one airline is doing well, not that the whole system is broken, and it's all due to employee attitude. Even Southwests ticker symbol sums it up.