So much for the "land of the free and home of the brave." It should be called the "land of the lost rights without so much as a whimper and the home of the scared out of their wits." Not that the US is alone in stupidity, or in doing bin Laden's work for him.
Sure UA is badly managed, and needs to be sorted out, but now it is in Chapter 11, it can reduce fares and compete with a significant advantage, such that AA and other airlines in the US will be pushed to the brink as well.
I am amazed that no-one has talked about the real reason for the failure of UA - the idiotic Homeland Security and government takeover of people's rights and freedoms. Sure there are some who are afraid to fly because they fear terrorists and blame Sep 11. But most are put off by the insane security procedures in force at the airports, together with the added hours required to make a trip that was simple and easy before. I heard Hannity of Fox TV, making like an extreme xenophobe on his show yesterday, when pressed to justify the treatmenrt given to those Iranian men who showed up at Immigration as directed, only to find themselves in jail, subject to deportation, crying that the US had the right to do "whatever necessary" to protect the American Public. Never mind that the US constitution was written to preserve the rights of "all men" (Which meant all persons when it was written), including those who are in the country as visitors or immigrants. Hannity appeared to be terrified, and would do anything for the appearance of safety, no matter how ineffectual. His mate, O'Reilly, also of Fox TV, said when asked if he was going to fly to visit family during the holidays, that he would not, because of the hassles at the airport. A great example.
Now the burden of inspection of checked baggage has been added, despite no history of risk, leading to real problems with theft, loss and damage, not to say the hassles this gives the travelling public. And this is not the end of it; there will be more stupidity in the name of "security" added before long.
Air traffic in the US, and the number of passengers travelling, has slipped by around 20% since Sep 11. It is my opinion that this is mainly due to the insanity of the authorities, who have no concept of balancing risks against the damage to the airlines. And when the airlines fail, so too do the rental car companies, catering,services, hotels and the many other businesses that rely on people travelling by air. And of course those directly employed by the airlines, who have a passion for aviation, and had planned to complete rewarding careers with them. All at risk now, while those responsible have added to their size and influence, building empires based on fear. Those organisations are, of course, funded by the taxpayer. Put it another way, they obtain their sustenance from the government mammary gland (there is a better way to put it but the PC clowns would not like to see it in print).
Why do so many accept what they must know is idiocy elevated to a level rarely seen before and allow seemingly anything to be done to remove their rights and freedoms? Are they truly so afraid? When the British were under constant attack during the Blitz, and the German public also, they became more determined, not less. Do the Americans (and the present day English, Australians and so on) have less backbone, and if so, why? Are we accustomed now to such an easy life that we will take no risks at all, but are willing to give total control to a bunch of politicians? Politicians who have never shown honesty or backbone themselves I might add.
If we allow our futures to be destroyed in this way, with the example of UA in the news every day to show us what is in store, perhaps we deserve everything that happens to us.