Sure bail them out and take an equity position.
U.S. airlines want a $50B bailout. They spent $45B buying back their stock
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Re: U.S. airlines want a $50B bailout. They spent $45B buying back their stock
#162Earlier quoted context omitted.
Sure they could've held it. Apple did it for a while. You could invest it and make even more, or invest a bit in not treating your passengers like f*cking cattle and constantly charging millions of fees, maybe?
Passengers are choosing to be treated like cattle, by aggressively bargain hunting for the lowest available sticker price. You have lots of options to get better service - economy plus, priority boarding, buying food onboard that you no longer get by default. And of course upgrading to business class. All these things cost more and you could either pay for it by default on every ticket like in the old days, or you ca…
The $50bn in profits shows exactly exactly that they didn’t cut margins that much, or reduce fees.
Also the prices don’t go down when oil prices do.
Re: U.S. airlines want a $50B bailout. They spent $45B buying back their stock
#163Earlier quoted context omitted.
I know everyone likes "the good ol' days" but this is a teachable moment. Sometimes you get the bear, sometimes the bear gets you.
No its not. No company should prepare for its business model to be made illegal. The best outcome for shareholders there is to return money to them before the business model becomes impossible and declare bankruptcy.
> No company should prepare for its business model to be made illegal.
Yes. When you have a business in an industry that is in the political or regulatory eye, you should prepare. This is historical prudence.
> this is a teachable moment > No its not.
I would treat it as such and that's the problem, isn't it? The model didn't become illegal, it became impractical for an extended duration of inactivity. This isn't an unexpected natural disaster, it's a rather regular event. Something something The Ant and The Grasshopper. Maybe another incarnation will show better judgement by holding more reserves and point backward.
The inability to consider history is a trend of the USA, politically and commercially now.
Re: U.S. airlines want a $50B bailout. They spent $45B buying back their stock
#164Earlier quoted context omitted.
They won't "go under". Force them into bankruptcy, someone buys them and assets out of bankruptcy. Management learns that there are huge ramifications for poor management decisions prioritizing investors short term wants vs business long term needs.
"It is good to kill an admiral from time to time to encourage the others." It is good to destroy incompetent, short-sighted management from time to time, to caution the others.
Funny enough - I thought you were serious and agreed with me - and just found out you were being facetious. ;)