The airlines are profitable, so let's end the pity party

The third quarter results are rolling in from the major airlines. Your wallet already knew what they tell: They are doing just fine. For the past two years, the major carriers have foisted their extra fees on the public by trotting out a series of sob songs that cajoled the weaker among us into feeling a sense of compassion that would be better turned on our fellow man than a business.

Sob no more. The new way of doing business at the airlines -- charging you for every little thing, cutting air schedules to the point where fewer tickets are available at a discount -- have eked so much cash from your purse that the airlines are doing pretty well again. U.S. Airways: $420 million profit. United: $387 million profit. Continental: $354 million profit. Delta: $363 million profit. AirTran: $36 million profit. Alaska Air reported its "best quarter ever." And those are quarterly profits, so if they keep doing that well for a year, you'll see more than $1 billion in profit for the first four liners. U.S. Airways is even about to start hiring again, which is certainly cause for a bittersweet smile.