But no mention of which airlines or routes? What percentage of flights to Europe are empty?
Airlines flying empty planes to keep flight slots during coronavirus outbreak
41–50 of 364 posts
Re: Airlines flying empty planes to keep flight slots during coronavirus outbreak
#42Earlier quoted context omitted.
Are you just mindlessly trolling here or do you have a point? Climate change is a thing that concerns people. Waste is a thing that concerns people. Is any of this surprising?
Do those two things concern people as much as you think? I don't see it as a major issue people vote on.
Equating “what people are concerned about” with “what people vote on” is unwise. It’s not as if we all get a direct vote on “should we tackle climate change?”
But hey: “For Democrats, climate change is now one of the two most important issues in politics, according to a new poll.”
https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2020/02/poll-us-...
Re: Airlines flying empty planes to keep flight slots during coronavirus outbreak
#43A non-original idea is to create a market for landing slots.
Who else proposed this idea?
Every reasonable economist should.
https://iea.org.uk/in-the-media/media-coverage/put-airport-s...
Re: Airlines flying empty planes to keep flight slots during coronavirus outbreak
#44Earlier quoted context omitted.
Do those two things concern people as much as you think? I don't see it as a major issue people vote on.
Equating “what people are concerned about” with “what people vote on” is unwise. It’s not as if we all get a direct vote on “should we tackle climate change?” But hey: “For Democrats, climate change is now one of the two most important issues in politics, according to a new poll.” https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2020/02/poll-us-...
And rightly so, because people would vote to tackle climate change and to have travel and economical growth at the same time.
Re: Airlines flying empty planes to keep flight slots during coronavirus outbreak
#45Covid 19 is a good opportunity for extremely sensible change. Lets all stop needlessly flying, lets all work from home (if your just doing an office job anyway), lets use local products and not stuff from half way across the world.
A decent percentage of people put food on the table and a roof over their head by doing a job we could classify as needless
Another reason why work shouldn't be a precondition for being alive.
I think that would be a sensible change.
Re: Airlines flying empty planes to keep flight slots during coronavirus outbreak
#46Earlier quoted context omitted.
Because otherwise airlines can buy up all the slots so competitors can't operate.
But it's ok with you that they buy up all the slots so competitors can't operate... just so as long as they burn fuel while they do it?
As I’ve answered elsewhere: burning fuel (and sustaining other operating costs) while they squat on slots ultimately ensures that squatting on too grand a scale and/or for too long will result in bankruptcy and thus ensures that the system is self-correcting (by limiting incumbent advantage).
Re: Airlines flying empty planes to keep flight slots during coronavirus outbreak
#47Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yes — because such behaviour results in losses for the company and, if sufficiently extreme (i.e., pushing them to bankruptcy) is self-correcting (they leave the market and vacate the slots).
Why not create a competitive market for slots, rather than incentivising people to literally burn fuel?
Because (as is argued elsewhere in this thread), large airlines could buy up all slots and then not operate flights on them, starving their would-be competitors of opportunity to create a basis for themselves.
Re: Airlines flying empty planes to keep flight slots during coronavirus outbreak
#48Earlier quoted context omitted.
But it's ok with you that they buy up all the slots so competitors can't operate... just so as long as they burn fuel while they do it?
As I’ve answered elsewhere: burning fuel (and sustaining other operating costs) while they squat on slots ultimately ensures that squatting on too grand a scale and/or for too long will result in bankruptcy and thus ensures that the system is self-correcting (by limiting incumbent advantage).
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Re: Airlines flying empty planes to keep flight slots during coronavirus outbreak
#49Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is a stupid rule. This is not an unforeseeable case. Just sell the slots. You can sell them once and forever or you can auction them yearly or every two, three, five years, whatever. Demanding planes run for no one’s benefit is just setting money, and more importantly resources, on fire.
I don’t think you understand the problems associated with the “just sell the slots” idea. The problem is that big airlines could buy up slots and then not use them. They wouldn’t necessarily have an incentive to sell them, either, because the buyers could be small, regional, or low-cost companies that could leverage them to build up a small but profitable business and later take on the bigger airlines (as happened wi…
The op addressed this issue with their comment about selling 1-5 year leases.
Re: Airlines flying empty planes to keep flight slots during coronavirus outbreak
#50Is this article being slightly over-dramatic? I would've thought most of these planes carry a significant amount of cargo, which likely has increased since there are fewer passengers and more room, and there might also be more remote/online purchasing as of recent.
Or is that not really a factor here?