American management? Facts: Did British Airways do such a great job with their version of a low-cost airline? If I recall it was a failure that they eventually sold it. Surely these things aren't related to a particular country. What happened with Ansett in Australia? Why is Varig in South America having tough times and having the merge with a rival?, and shall we also include Swissair? And what necessitated the need for JAL and Japan Air System to have to merge? There's great stories and sad stories throughout the world of airlines. As for the mega-bonuses and stock options, my guess it was only that which landed Gordon Bethune at Continental and he arguably saved that airline from distinction.

I think it would be really hard to pinpoint an exact culture for these failures. Just my opinion.