4Greens - this is far too simplistic!
Emeritus I think is much closer to the truth.
I was only there for 20 years, it was an extremely professional, happy, loyal and proud airline - at least until the rumblings that led to the 1989 disaster started. My impression (I wasn't there by then) was that this really started the downward spiral.
Rod Eddington's words: "Great airline, lousy business" were prophetic.