Certainly, PG's point here is very true with respect to the legacy airline carriers: Most of the union contracts were negotiated during airline regulation. Regu

Certainly, PG's point here is very true with respect to the legacy airline carriers: Most of the union contracts were negotiated during airline regulation. Regulated prices guaranteed that the airlines could pass any increases in labor costs on to the customers and still turn a profit - thus, they had no incentive to negotiate with them. Then deregulation and suddenly those contracts don't make much sense anymore. However, it's very shortsighted to solely blame the unions. A contract is a contract, and if an employer made a bad one, they are still bound to uphold it.