It was chaos at O'Hare. A snowstorm had socked Chicago and wreaked havoc on every flight. The line for security snaked around and around the stanchions. Not a pretty picture, but not all that unusual for those who spend way too much time at airports.

What was unusual - and disturbing - is that not one person checked my ID.

The day before at Newark Liberty Airport, I had shown my photo ID to no less than three TSA agents. I also went through one of those "puffer" machines used to detect explosives or narcotics.

Anyone who travels knows that security standards seem to vary from airport to airport, from day to day. It's imperfect, like much about the airline industry. Gerald Grinstein, the CEO who steered Delta out of bankruptcy, and the subject of this month's Leading by Example profile (p. 68), told us that he is disheartened that the presidential candidates have not made the current state of the airline industry a pressing issue. "It's going to take a lot of work to stop the bleeding in the airline industry," he said. "The present-day air traffic control system is archaic and needs a complete overhaul."

It's not the only aspect of this industry that needs fixing, at least according to one of our Point/Counterpoint contributors (p. 120). Kate Hanni, executive director for the 22,000-member Coalition for an Airline Passengers' Bill of Rights, took up the cause after being stranded for more than nine hours on an airplane in 2006. Nine hours without food, water, or access to bathroom facilities. The issue, she said, has crossed over from one of consumer service to safety, and it's getting worse, not better.

Airline travel surfaced as a concern among respondents of this year's meetings market survey, although it was by no means at the top of planners' hit parade. It was part of a package of overall concerns about the economy and escalating costs, and the impact that will have on meetings. (Review the survey results and read planners' comments, starting on p. 31.) For at least one respondent, though, the airline industry itself was top of mind: "Since deregulation, it has been a free-for-all with crazy rates, fuel surcharges, hubs, exorbitant CEO salaries." (When you read his story, you'll see that Grinstein is one CEO who bucked that last trend.)

Respondents talked about another disconcerting trend: An industry built on relationships is experiencing a noticeable lapse in respect and professional courtesy. Last year, planners said the buyer/seller dynamics had eroded long-term relationships. This year, it was less about how little these relationships seemed to matter when it came to negotiation or bookings. The complaints revealed a more "inhospitable" hospitality industry. "My No. 1 concern is how hotels treat others in our industry - from past employees to customers. If they treat their employees poorly and bad- mouth them, how can I trust them with my event?" one said. Said another: "I don't think that those who are seeking events for their cities and venues understand how they have to make sure that our events go well in order for us to come back. They are just booking business."

What is going on here? "Rudeness: The New Reality?" explores the possible reasons on p. 85. Is it technology? A lack of time? Greater pressure to produce? The way the younger generation communicates?

Let us know what you think. Let me rephrase that. Please let us know what you think.

FIRST-TIME NOVELIST: This month, longtime Convene Contributing Editor Ginny Phillips is celebrating the release of her first novel, The Well and the Mine, published by Hawthorne Books & Literary Arts (www.hawthornebooks.com). Set during the Great Depression in a small Alabama mining town, this story draws you in from the first page with a tragic mystery, but it's Phillips' attention to authentic detail that makes the characters and their world come alive. Maybe it's because Phillips has been tape-recording, since high school, the childhood stories her grandmother and great aunts - who inhabited the novel's place and time - shared with her.