Actually...
...I'd argue that the unions crushed the airlines. But it's a bit more complex than all of that.
The unions are a large part of the problem. As they typically do, when the stuff hit the fan, they sold out the future of young pilots to protect the jobs and benefits of the older ones. So today, a young co-pilot sits next to a senior captain who get a much better deal that the younger pilot will never see.
And since everything with unions is about seniority, there is no lateral job mobility. Everyone fights to maintain the status-quo, because if anything tumbles you get sent to the bottom.
