It might be an exaggeration to say that salesman-turned-fishing guide Norm Weston experienced a career epiphany two decades ago. But then, how else do you describe the lure of Southwest Florida's back country, where the saltwater flats teem with redfish, snook and trout?

For some time now, news from the airline industry has been anything but uplifting. Bankruptcies, labor disputes, consolidations and liquidations have populated the headlines.