Who are these people in the world that must fly on airplanes more than once or twice a year? Seriously; with webcams and multi-conferencing, not to mention old-fashioned standbys like postcards and phone calls, who needs to be buzzing around on planes all the damn time? This "I want it right now." world pushed for the speedier air travel over car travel 20 years ago. Even then, though, anybody with at least a 3rd grade education and an ability to type knew that the future of communication would be non-physical. Everybody, especially the heads of the airline industry, should have been "diversifying their portfolio" (corporate B.S. talk), or they should have (as we say in the real world) "gotten a second job".
On any trip through any airport, you will see all kinds of high school flunk-outs, and multiple bad attitude "affirmitive action" placements in positions of authority. I have been shocked by the lack of mental acuteness of different people on every trip I have made through an airport. I think to myself "These people could never get hired by a telemarketing company, and probably couldn't get a job flipping burgers, but somehow these freaks of nature wound up working at the airport. How is that?"
Nobody wants to say this--so I will: If you want to make individual flights safe, then you must cavity-search every person on the plane. Start with the pilot, and move all the way down to those lovely unsupervised children. Don't like cavity searches? Fine; then don't fly. That was easy.
This whole world lacks alot of the common sense that prevailed up until the 1950's. Let's bring some of that common sense back by realizing that airport security IS national security. Let's move past those little monotonous questionaires of 'Did anyone unknown to you pack your bags for you?'. Personally, I believe that if there were armed guards at multiple checkpoints in the airports, and if a couple of people per day were to get shot for "forgetting" that they were carrying weapons, NOBODY would be trying to sneak a boxcutter aboard an airplane. Don't want to get shot? Fine; then don't fly. This is so easy.
So let's wrap this up into a nice little educational piece for you: Nobody needs to fly on an airplane more than once or twice a year. Expect to be cavity-searched when you do fly, and you will be shot if that search reveals a weapon. People who are too dumb to get hired at McDonalds shouldn't be working at the airport. And, even with little Georgie's $15 billion bailout, no intelligent person would ever rely on the airline industry alone for their income.