Waaaay too simplistic PG;

Airlines are a cash FLOW business. Debt service takes some of the flow, but the scale of DAL vs LUV is significant. However, the debt inequity may have made SWAPA's job easier.

We should be about a year into the debt levelling right now. One more year and all debt servicing flattens out YOY. Then we are back to pure cash flow business...money comes in, money goes out, kind of like breathing. The residual profit should be deposited into our bank accounts.

Oh yeah PG,

We dont have to discuss this because I think it is 1, 2 and 3.

ALPA hasn't set a fixed cost to each seat.
Pilots got too far over their heads in the good times and had to take whatever cut or they might lose their house.
Deregulation brought opportunities and new traps to the business, most of which ALPA missed until they tripped over them.