Like every industry you have to adapt or die. Like we just saw locally with Art Van furniture as one of the biggest in the Midwest is bankrupt. They were too slow in investing in the online business and there sales practices were not customer friendly.Do you think Art Van should get bailed out?That’s only a small reason they are bankrupt. The main reason is they were bought by a private equity firm, loaded with debt so they could attempt to extract a maximum of capital from it, got rid of all the executives who had experience with Art Van and tried to massively over expand. Most of the largest bankruptcies we see are from private equity firms doing this.Edited March 9 by Ilov80s. I get that, is it your contention that if people don’t travel for fun but they won’t do anything different with that money?They would eventually since americans don't save very well.Here is the problem with bailout/no bailouts. I would be totally fine with no bailouts.
If the airlines fail it won’t be because of bad practices. It will be because of events that they had nothing to do with. This is the entire of purpose of having a government- for situations like these. Interests: Football, learning more about fantasy football. My daughter, teaching, and boating.
Let some things go under, let other things pop up in their place or new companies buy the struggling businesses. Let things recover and probably be better off as a whole.But we would never really do that. If the airline industry went under and we just let that happen we would still bail people out with all sorts of programs and extra spending. Then states and cities would be courting all the new players and giving away sweetheart deals to put their headqtrs in their state.So perhaps we could spend Xdollars on the front end to make sure we dont have all the turmoil and maybe have leverage to at the very least keep taxes from the industry at current levels.or we could spend Xdollars on the back end and have a new set of power brokers with sweetheart deals as well as a bunch of folks that got caught in the wash. Not to mention all of the politicians that would make new deals or get elected on a platform of look at me helping the downtrodden tourist workers.All of this goes without saying we are NOWHERE near bailout territory yet, just doesnt hurt to have a plan in place. Which I am sure is being worked on by the current admin by the best people.
I don't much like traveling as it is, because it's a giant hassle. If it's something I have to go and see, I'll save up for it. In any event, the poor business practices have to be flushed out of the system or this is only going to keep happening.I agree on improving business practices. It’s a major issue with the country in general and seeps into almost every core problem we face. Universities, legal system, corporations, etc are all hijacked with a business model that has to always grow profit. It’s just not a good practice for long term health of society.I don’t think your opinion on traveling is relevant though. Obviously many people enjoy it and/or need to do it.
I agree on improving business practices. It’s a major issue with the country in general and seeps into almost every core problem we face. Universities, legal system, corporations, etc are all hijacked with a business model that has to always grow profit. It’s just not a good practice for long term health of society.I don’t think your opinion on traveling is relevant though. Obviously many people enjoy it and/or need to do it.That second paragraph is fair, I know my opinion isn't shared by everyone.
However, if we can make stuff more efficient, traveling won't be as bad as it is now. Business people need to get places. For example, my FIL has a small business and needs to regularly travel all over the country and world to do sales, estimates, repairs, etc. A significant reduction in available flights means he has less ability to get to those places, it will cost him a lot more and could severely limit his ability to conduct his business. Multiply that out by however many business people travel and it could be a huge problem.Exactly, the ripple effect across almost all industries is almost incalculable just like it would have been for the auto industry.
Crazy bad in the face of growing online trends. In 2017 after he acquisition they set forth a plan to build 200 new store in order to double revenue. They took on massive debt to do it including selling all the Art Van store land they owned and then leasing it back. However sad as it is, furniture doesn’t impact the domestic economy in such a broad way as does air travel.Delta has had record profits as of late. Including almost a 5 billion profit in 2019. So 2020 will not be as profitable but they should have plenty of cash available to sustain some down times.Edited March 9 by Da Guru. The airline industry is not going to get a lot of bipartisan sympathy outside the beltway.
They have bilked the customers for years and have not invested or planned for contingencies? What have they done to be more cost effective or improve technology? Many of the domestic fleets are archaic? Countless mergers have created much higher rates. I understand the sentiment but I don’t have a lot of sympathy.I don't entirely understand this. I always looked at the baggage fees, additional optional extra costs, etc.
As a way to keep the price of the initial ticket price down. Also, it's not like the fees are hidden. I guess I've never felt 'bilked' and I fly a few times per year. I don't much like traveling as it is, because it's a giant hassle.
If it's something I have to go and see, I'll save up for it. In any event, the poor business practices have to be flushed out of the system or this is only going to keep happening.The problem is countless businesses rely on travel and I’m not even talking about the tourism aspect.For example, I’m in the wedding business.
The company I work for is one of the largest wedding companies in the country (probably the largest but if not top 3). We are still a family owned biz with ownership that has done the right thing (invest back into the business and the people who work here not enrich themselves) from the start. The effect of airlines going under could devastate our extremely well run otherwise rock solid business. With a worst case situation of 100’s losing their jobs.There are likely 1000’s of businesses like ours that could be completely rocked by airlines going under. It’s just not as simple as saying “let Delta fall, run a better business model next time”.
The far reaching implications are just to vast.Edited March 9 by dkp993. The problem with bailing out industry in 2008 was that industry would come begging with same practices later on. Sure enough, we see the calls for economic fascism doubling and much more quickly. We have barely restricted travel yet and we're talking bailouts?Please.To be fair, Tim’s post is the only spot I’ve seen this discussed and it’s all speculative.
I’m not saying we need to do it now. It’s the kind of thing we should think about before it #### hits the fan. The whole plan for the worst, hope for the best.
People's emotions when it comes to the airline industry are kind of funny to me. So many people get upset about less legroom or no free pretzels, but ignore that flying has pretty much defied inflation and has become more inclusive, by a huge margin.More lower income people are flying than ever before.
More obese people are getting free extra seats. More free pets than ever before, because support.
More stupid passenger lawsuits.Exactly, it is extraordinarily inexpensive to fly especially considering the time spent and distance traveled. Just because a flight across the country costs a little more than your Uber rides to and from the airport doesn't mean the airlines are bilking you. If anything, it should illustrate how incredibly inexpensive flying really is.Edited March 9 by rcam.