Many of the problems plaguing the airline industry are also plaguing other industries. The underlying cause is also the same-they've lost sight of basic principles.
We all realize the gravity of what happened on 9/11 and the immediate adverse effect it had on the airline industry. Many people were afraid to fly after that date, business travel was cut out almost completely, and some people still refuse to fly. But devastating as they were, those events merely exacerbated-albeit severely-problems that had been building in the airline industry for years.