Maybe too late but I think we are shooting ourselves in the foot with this. With Congress floundering on CARES II it looks increasingly unlikely we’ll see a funding bill before the election. If by that time we’ve already taken concessions to mitigate furloughs, it’ll be “Great- the free market worked! The airlines solved this one on their own!” If we & possibly other groups have rejected these offers, “Congress can’t help where employees aren’t willing to be realistic & come to the table.” Either way, I think we’ve made ourselves less of a priority. Bad news from the Senate this week, and a possible setup to cut ourselves out of further government funding.

From an ABC news article (emphasis mine):

“‘This is a tough, tough situation, and there is no question that the airlines are facing unprecedented challenges,’ Toomey told The Associated Press. ‘But there is a real serious policy question we have to ask ourselves, which is for how long are the taxpayers supposed to prop up firms in an industry that clearly has massive overcapacity at this moment?’

“An agreement this week between United Airlines and its pilots to avoid furloughs could provide more ammunition to opponents who believe further aid for airlines is unnecessary. The agreement, which still needs final approval, would save nearly 3,000 jobs at United. Pilots at Alaska Airlines, JetBlue and Spirit Airlines have reached similar deals, making unspecified contract concessions to avoid furloughs.

”’If labor and management can come together and reach an agreement whereby furloughs are avoided ... that's very encouraging,’ Toomey said.”