This is why government bailouts are ALWAYS a bad idea. The airlines are currently flying EMPTY airplanes so they will qualify for the government bailout.
This money could have gone directly to tax payers who desperately need it. Or to buying PPE. Instead it's going to bonuses for Airline CEOs.
I have faith in US airlines' ability to ramp up capacity again when demand is there. And I have faith in them to operate their businesses efficiently when it isn't.
It took 3 years after 9/11 for # of flights in the US to return to August 2001 levels.
First estimate I saw for recovery this time is 10 years. That's definitely a WAG, but I like the reasoning.
Digital meetings have proven they are more than capable, cutting a ton of business travel down. Corporations have been hesitant to end most business travel because they weren't sure digital was ready. Now they know it is.
People are never again going to want to be jammed into a plane. Corona is the beginning of a new and permanent change in how we congregate. You already see it in restaurants that are redesigning their interiors because people are never going to want to eat that close to strangers again. The economy of air flight is going to dramatically change as very few people will want to fly coach again sitting so close to a stranger.
Corona is the third disease of it's kind in 20 years. SARS, MERS and now Corona. We will have another one, worse than Corona in then next 7 years. What does air travel look like as we finally start to prepare for that seriously?
In light of these major changes -- who should decide what air travel (and air freight) will look like in the future? The government? Or the market?
Generally I am against the bailout of anything as well. I was unaware that airlines were flying empty... that's just dumb.
What does WAG mean inside this article? It's always meant "wives and girlfriends" to me :)