Were the airline bailouts really needed?
A year ago this week, Doug Parker, the CE of American Airlines, flew to Washington to begin what became a yearlong lobbying campaign for a series of taxpayer-funded bailouts during the pandemic. He wasn’t alone. The campaign also included leaders from Alaska Airlines, Allegiant Air, Delta, Frontier, Hawaiian Airlines, JetBlue, United, SkyWest and Southwest — all with their hands extended. The flight attendant and pilot unions were also part of the lobbying. A year later, as the stock market cruises to new heights, questions should be asked about the $50b in grants that were used to prop up the airline industry. Was it worth it? And was it necessary? The good news is that the rescue money likely saved as many as 75,000 jobs, most remaining at full pay. And that money also kept the airlines from filing for bankruptcy, and in a position to ferry passengers all over the country to jump start economic growth as the health crisis subsides. The bad news is that it is also likely that taxpayers massively overpaid: The original grant of $25b in April meant that each of the 75,000 jobs saved cost the equivalent of more than $300,000. And with each additional round of bailout money, that price has grown. Story has more. <br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2021-03-17/general/were-the-airline-bailouts-really-needed
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Were the airline bailouts really needed?
A year ago this week, Doug Parker, the CE of American Airlines, flew to Washington to begin what became a yearlong lobbying campaign for a series of taxpayer-funded bailouts during the pandemic. He wasn’t alone. The campaign also included leaders from Alaska Airlines, Allegiant Air, Delta, Frontier, Hawaiian Airlines, JetBlue, United, SkyWest and Southwest — all with their hands extended. The flight attendant and pilot unions were also part of the lobbying. A year later, as the stock market cruises to new heights, questions should be asked about the $50b in grants that were used to prop up the airline industry. Was it worth it? And was it necessary? The good news is that the rescue money likely saved as many as 75,000 jobs, most remaining at full pay. And that money also kept the airlines from filing for bankruptcy, and in a position to ferry passengers all over the country to jump start economic growth as the health crisis subsides. The bad news is that it is also likely that taxpayers massively overpaid: The original grant of $25b in April meant that each of the 75,000 jobs saved cost the equivalent of more than $300,000. And with each additional round of bailout money, that price has grown. Story has more. <br/>
