I have to disagree with the author who is obviously Race baiting. The true story is loss of market share for the U.S. carriers and HUGE expansion plans by the Mid East 3 carriers. The US majors have lost their ability to compete due to numerous reasons. Stopping Open Skies will also not work. The only option is to get new 787/350 style aircraft and fly Direct as much as possible avoiding the Mideast transit. EK is here to stay but long term depressed oil prices may slow down EY and Qatar along with increasing labor problems. The U.S. majors may shrink into mostly domestic carriers as Ryan Air and Norwegian scavenge their N. Atlantic routes. Of course the long term Asian expansion may ultimately be the long term survivors.