Originally Posted by
White Cap
The Legacies have 2 flights per day into the Gulf? That is why they are crying? Maybe they should have been expanding over the last fifteen years into the market, instead of gutting salaries, closing bases, socializing pensions, and racing to the bottom with "bundling". And we defend them?
Expand to what market?
Gutting Salaries.... how does ME pay stand up?
Closing bases..... you mean the consolidation that has finally allowed the US carriers to become profitable as an industry, at least temporarily until enough new entrants can destroy the yield on the markets.
Socializing Pensions..... you mean turning over the money and payment of pensions to the PBGC in BK court? How does that compare to the pension offered by ME carriers?
Racing to the bottom by bundling? I assume you're complaining about the increase in FEEs by unbundling the fare with fees in the last decade. That is partly driven by the tax policy that taxes airfare in the US but not fees. Also with the advent of the internet, airlines realize they need their fare to be near the lowest possible because many people just go with the cheapest, then the fees add on revenue that would have otherwise been written into the fares.
Yes we defend them because we don't want the US airline industry to go the way of the US maritime industry.