Here is an interesting article written Nov. 2002. It shows that it is unlikely that box cutters could have gotten on-board commerical aircraft pre-9-11.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/11/12/terror/main528967.shtml

Boxcutters Weren't Allowed Pre-9/11

(AP / CBS)

America On Guard

Find out what actions are being taken to protect our nation in the air, water and on land.
(AP) A manual written by the airline industry years before the Sept. 11 attacks instructed airport screeners to confiscate from passengers boxcutters like those used by the hijackers, documents show.

Though the federal government did not specifically bar the objects before Sept. 11, the airlines were in charge of security and the manual they compiled was the guidebook for determining what items could be brought aboard flights.

The instructions were part of the Checkpoint Operations Guide, a manual issued by the Air Transport Association, which represents the major airlines, and the Regional Airline Association, the trade group for smaller carriers. The groups issued the guide to carry out Federal Aviation Administration regulations.