Airlines Confidential · Wednesday, September 9, 2026
Doug Parker, then CEO of America West, reflects on the profound and life-changing impact of the September 11th terrorist attacks on the aviation industry. He recalls the initial fear and then the industry's resilience, with employees showing up to work despite the somber atmosphere.
“For people in aviation, 9/11 carries enormous weight, beyond the thousands of lives lost, beyond the profound changes in air travel, beyond the jobs eliminated and pay cuts imposed.”
“There's no doubt, you know, any of us that were in the business, um, on 9/11, um, were changed, um, by that day, and hopefully changed forever.”
“I mean, first, first and foremost, the way our people responded. The way aviation professionals responded, you know, I, I was indeed working in a little airline called America West in Phoenix. I'd been CEO for all of 10 days on 9/11.”