PHXFlyer is right that there has been no bailout money at least not recently
and even though the foreign airlines are much better than US based airlines there isn't enough room or sense in them doing it. They would loose alot of money and it is far away from their hubs, they go to the major airports such as JFK LAX and so on, but for them to go domestically would be out of reach for them as it would not be a good business situation for either them or the passengers as they would have higher ticket prices to cover costs. The best solution is to fix the US industry and have a better working structure that helps everyone out.
I admit it is a pain in the ass to do certain things when it comes to your ticket and the airlines agents and how things get sorted out. I dont think that outsourcing did anything positive in the industry, i understand that it is cheaper in most cases but it also has to be atleast logical and i dont believe that it is.
I was just thinking if there was anyway that if your clients were traveling internationally if you could have asked United to transfer them onto a Star Alliance member (for example Singapore Airlines JFK-Frankfurt or Lufthansa) as they are much better in every sense of the way. I have flown many times with Singapore Airlines (Kris Flyer member) and i have never had an issue with them and every request that has been made was met and sometimes they went beyond what was expected.
I feel sorry about the whole ordeal and the frustration that everyone went through, it can ruin the whole travel experience and there should be ways to help everyone in the situation. I believe that you had the right jesture in giving back the money to your clients and i hope that they accept it and understand that you did as much as you could and that they use you again if they need another flight.
good luck
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