Cry me a river.
9/11 was a horrible day for everyone. It is a verifiable fact that the direct economic impact of the aftermath of 9/11 has had a significantly higher adverse impact on short haul flights than long haul. Security hassles and delays make the automobile a competitor on short haul. That is one of the primary reasons why SWA is increasing its stage lengths and desirous of flying long haul out of DAL. The other is the tax/fee per segment rules that AMR championed to hurt SWA.
BTW, I started as a student pilot in 1974