Originally Posted by
AirWillie
The toilet has already been flushed. For what you are saying should happen, it would mean thousands of job losses as you consolidate and raise fares. Even if it were to happen, it would mean a setback of about a decade for pilots. We are just going to have to come to terms that free market economy and the airlines just do not mix unless there is heavy gov regulation. You can't make profits by selling a 2 dollar product for 5 cents.
I have to respectfully disagree with that statement. Airlines can and do exist in the free market economy successfully without government regulation. The free market simply dictates who survives and how many carriers exist.
The industry of the present is just too big for the market it is trying to serve - i.e., overcapacity. The sad but harsh truth is that the industry
must shrink in order to be profitable. It's a choice of many carriers operating just barely above cost, or fewer carriers that are strong and profitable.
I don't believe government regulation would make the matter any better. It would exist to subsidize carriers at the expense of the taxpayer. And with government intervention comes the inevitable game of political favorites. If the government is footing the bill, they are going to determine the who, what, where, and how often pieces of the pie. It is entirely plausible that many carriers would cease operating due to the fact the government may choose to subsidize certain carriers only.