I am posting this question with all due respect.

I am not trying to initiate a "Let's bash US" discussion. So please...don't take it there.

My question, as an airline enthusiast is simple...what happened?

I am looking at a USAir annual report from 1988 that says: "Nineteen eighty-eight was a good year for USAir Group. We had our thirteenth consecutive year of profitability..." "Operating income reached an all-time high of $433.6 million on revenue of $5.7 billion. Net income of $165 million was the second highest in our history...."

Yet, I have spent the past few days reading all of the old posts in the "Dividend Miles Pre-Merger Program" thread and it seems it has been gloom and doom for a long, long time.

USAir was the first airline I ever flew as a child. I wanted to fly so badly, my parents let me save up money to fly from CLE to PIT to see my grandparents....This was in the 80s and the roundtrip fare was $90. So, I have nothing but fond memories of USAir.

My question is really....what happened to this once profitable, successful airline? Was it bad management? Overexpansion? Extreme overhead?

Reading the pre-merger Dividend Miles posts (which has taken several days) it seems like US has been in a continuous state of decline....layoffs, hub/res center/base closures....pay cuts...its NOT a recent thing. But, unlike other carriers (even those still in trouble) the cuts continue....closing bases...the LAS hub....

Again, I emphasize, I am NOT trying to bash this airline...not at all. I just wonder...where was the turning point? When did this continuously profitable carrier turn the corner into a continuously struggling carrier?

As a total airline geek and enthusiast, I just wonder...what happened and why can't this once-great airline recover?

I would also like to state....if I simply wanted to bash US...I would have done so on airliners.net where all of the "younger" crowd that knows nothing of the once great USAir would be quick to jump on the bandwagon. This question is posed as a legitimate question to those that know US the best...people like flight62. I am looking for real answers...not just complaining about the decline of meal service and inflight perks....people who have been there as long-time customers and employees.

What happened? What changed the tides from a constantly profitable carrier to one that is still (unfortunately) suffering even post-HP merger? Reading the old posts, it seems like so many things were done to save the company even before the merger with unsuccessful attempts.

So you long-time US flyers and employees...what do you think the turning point was?