Before September 11 the airline industry faced problems with air traffic control, airport congestion, quality complaints, and antitrust concerns. Now the focus is on the airlines’ dire financial condition. Will the future see more mergers, failures, and bankruptcies? Should the federal government try to prevent those outcomes by propping up airlines with loan assistance? Would privatizing airports or air traffic control or opening the American market to foreign carriers and foreign ownership be a better way to ensure competition?