Or not.

Operationally we were much better then than now.
From an IT standpoint, the comparison is laughable, likewise our FC service was superior then. Additionally, there are a ton of givebacks and concessionary allowances in the current contract which weren't in the last. Training took a massive steamer. And while I applaud the overall maintenance of the planes, the paperwork trail is now a joke. Dispatch often stinks. We are treated more like children now. So, I find your premise flawed and easily debunked. I only post this to offset the 'fog of innernets lore' lest the FNGs swallow it as gospel. I wish we could stop the internecine bickering and start focusing on repairing the next contract.

Tilton was a hatchet man who was focused on two things, labor and consolidation. The actual airline operation was certainly no worse, and I submit was actually much better than it has been these days.