The airline industry is begging for help as fuel prices continue to climb

[thewayne]

I try not to wish ill on anyone, I don't need the karma load or rebound. But the airline industry? They've been running inefficient operations for a long time while focusing on horrible customer service. Now fuel costs are rising and they're going to be losing money. Guess what? Capitalism means that successful companies live and that unsuccessful companies die. Except in America, where if the company is big enough, the government will bail them out. The government bailed them out in late 2001, and they didn't learn. Now their operating costs are going through the roof at the same time as people aren't traveling as much.

The article says that airlines are failing at the rate of one a week, I wonder if the Darwinistic effect will help the survivors learn anything.

Having given it 0.0005 seconds of thought: Nah, they won't learn anything as the government continues to bail them out.

http://blog.wired.com/cars/2008/06/the-internation.html

Comments

[silveradept]

Would be nice to watch something productive come out of this, be it more efficient aircraft, different flight schedules, or even the idea that excellent service will win more fares than not having enough room to breathe.

What's most likely to happen, though, is government-assisted profits and bonuses for the people at the top.