airline industry has not been especially profitable. The financial woes of the industry have implications for the future of air transportation for it is the great carriers that have provided the launch orders for new airliners in the past. Pan Am, for instance, launched the 707and 747; United launched the 767 and 777; and france and Lufthansa provide the launch orders for most of Airbus' airliners. By contrast, the LCCs' focus on a handful of smaller, relatively short-haul aircraft limits their capacity to serve as catalysts for technological breakthoughs in aviation.