Last year, ExxonMobil earned $36 billion, the largest profit in US corporate history and, one reasonably may assume, the world. Other oil companies, US and non-US, did nearly as well, benefiting, ironically, from the very storms that caused so much damage to their refining capacity. Perhaps if Hurricanes Katrina and Rita somehow had swamped 500 transports on the tarmac, rendering them unflyable for several months, the concomitant reduction in airline capacity would have led to record airline profits in the fourth quarter.

It was pointed out at the recent Aviation and Environment Summit in Geneva that ICAO has been active on all environmental fronts, its Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection progressing through a series of standards-setting meetings with more to come, the roadmap of future progress clearly delineated. It was just three months ago that ICAO adopted NOx standards taking effect in 2008 that are 12% more stringent than levels set in 1999.

At US Airways, the problems largely were manmade, as is clear in the detailed report commissioned by US Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta following both events. Keenly aware of personnel shortages among the flight attendant and ramp agent work groups, US Airways officials knew they were rolling the dice well before piles of unchecked luggage started reaching the ceiling in Philadelphia.