''We were underbid in contract after contract,'' said Patrick Cannan, director of corporate relations. ''The rates they wanted us to come in at were untenable.''

But now, in the wake of Tuesday's catastrophe in which hijacked planes were used as suicide bombs in New York and Washington, it is almost a foregone conclusion that airline spending on security will increase. More officers, more people to check baggage, more training.

In the long run, analysts said, that will probably mean higher fares and perhaps longer waits for passengers waiting to board flights.

Critics say a system that rewards low bidders has made it difficult for security companies to hire and keep well-trained people.

There is no evidence that airlines reduced security spending as a result of the industry's recent economic woes, but it is no secret that airlines routinely award contracts to the lowest bidder, said Wayne Black, an airline security consultant based in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

''Too often, security is dictated by budget,'' he said.

The average nationwide salary for the nation's 18,000 airport baggage screeners is roughly $6 an hour, according to the Service Employees International Union, which represents many of them. The federal minimum wage is $5.15 an hour.

Low wages have led to annual turnover rates of more than 200 percent at Boston's Logan International Airport and 90 percent at Washington's Dulles International Airport - where three of the hijacked flights originated Tuesday.

A report last year by Congress' General Accounting Office warned of serious problems in the nation's aviation security system, blaming high turnover, low pay and inadequate training of airport security screeners, who check passengers and carry-on luggage.

''It's like hiring a temp agency to handle your security needs,'' said Jono Shaffer, who coordinates the union's airport security division. ''Maybe after this horrible tragedy airlines will change their priorities a little bit.''

James McNulty, executive vice president of operations at Pinkerton's Inc., the U.S. subsidiary of Swedish security giant Securitas AB, said the problems faced by airport security companies are fairly simple.

''It is a cost factor for the airlines and there is an impatience among the American people who don't want to go through'' the kind of comprehensive security checks that are done at European airports, McNulty said.

A separate unit of Securitas operates at Boston's Logan Airport, where the two hijacked flights that brought down the World Trade Center originated Tuesday.

Individual airlines refused to discuss specifics about airport security on Wednesday, saying they were concentrating on helping the families of victims.

The main industry organization, the Air Transport Association, issued a statement saying: ''None of our systems have been built on the basis of suicidal terrorists. Therefore, this is not a story about airlines, but a story of terrorists and criminals.''

Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta said he is working to beef up airline security. Among other changes, when flights resume, bags may not be checked at the curb and will be subjected to random checks.

The United States is one of the few countries that do not routinely use the military or police officers to enhance airline security, and that is unlikely to change.

Still, Black and others said what does need to change is the patience of American travelers.

''It's better to be on the ground wishing you were in the air,'' he said, ''than in the air wishing you were on the ground.''