If there's any clearer litmus test for the health of the overall economy, it's the airline industry. And more than just the recent focus of all that air rage on the part of Alec Baldwin, American Airlines has been making headlines yet again with its own tales of economic struggle.

As has happened with many carriers in the past, it's the employees who seem destined to take the biggest bruising. As a solution to its bankruptcy issues, American rather contritely opted, a few weeks ago, to float a plan that calls for 13,000 jobs to disappear, as well as a move to dump the company's pension plans.

While this seems like a quick, shareholder and executive-friendly solution on paper, not only are those 13,000 real jobs, but American and its parent corporation were a little quick to insinuate that the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation would simply step in and handle that whole pension default, affecting 10 times as many employees.