We have no one to thank but oursleves!!! How disgusting!!! How pathetic!!!!



By contrast, profitable low-cost airlines such as Southwest Airlines Co. and JetBlue Airways Corp. have defined contribution plans, such as 401(k)s, meaning they don't have pension funding gaps. They also run operations that are vastly more efficient in terms of how employees and aircraft are deployed.

"The Southwests and JetBlues are the industry benchmark," said John Heimlich, chief economist at the Air Transport Association, a Washington-based industry group. By shedding its pension obligations, "United has found one way to get closer to that benchmark."