Will your retirement be a smooth landing: The industry continues to struggle to recover from its historic downturn. Embattled airline companies have still not recovered from lingering fears of 9/11, threats of further terror, the Iraq war, rising jet fuel costs, overcapacity, and the steady arrival of new low-fare competitors.
Airline executives would probably add "pensions" to their list of problems these days. Of the 10 major U.S. airlines, only Southwest had a positive net income in 2001 and 2002. The six largest companies combined have lost over $23 billion since 2001, and management knows pension funding is a drain on desperately needed cash.
