Crazy Times Bring Out Dumb Ideas, and Nationalizing Airlines Is The Worst

by Gary Leff

Mar 18 2020

Former White House Chief of Staff and former Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel is known for saying ‘never let a crisis go to waste.’ It’s an opportunity to push an agenda. So as the airline bailout train leaves the station some people are advocating the consumer protection rules that they wanted anyway. Others (like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez) want the financial reforms they want anyway.

If you hate air travel you want to use this crisis to nationalize the airlines, an idea put forward by the left wing American Prospect.

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Expect REAL ID To Be Delayed “Due To Coronavirus”

by Gary Leff

Mar 18 2020

The TSA has been saying that starting October 1, 2020 they are only going to accept IDs at security checkpoints that are compliant with a 2005 law that’s been getting kicked down the road for years. There are still a few states that aren’t issuing these IDs, and many people in states that are haven’t replaced their drivers licenses with new ones.

The prospect of turning away passengers from flying en masse never seemed plausible one month before the Presidential election. The October 1, 2020 deadline, which has been pushed off for years, inevitably will be pushed off again.

Now, with coronavirus, we know what excuse the Department of Homeland Security is likely to use.

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Don’t Ban Stock Buybacks Or Impose Consumer Protection Rules As Part Of An Airline Bailout

by Gary Leff

cash
Mar 18 2020

Airline bailouts are a bad idea. Stockholders should take a haircut before taxpayers. Airline bankruptcy does not present contagion risk to the economy. Airlines have flown through bankruptcy successfully – American, Delta, and United have all done it. And any help for workers should address the needs people face independent of industry.. Working for an airline isn’t ‘more special’ than some other job.

However there are very bad ideas circulating around new conditions to impose in exchange for a bailout.

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United Has Cut So Much Flying It’s Easier To List The Flights They Run Than Those They Don’t

by Gary Leff

united plane
Mar 18 2020

United’s April flight schedule is down 60% year-over-year; an 85% decrease for international (and greater than that for transatlantic and transpacific) and a 42% for U.S. and Canada flying.

It’s easier to list the international flights that are actually operating than those that aren’t. Domestically there are a lot of cuts but United emphasizes they’ve only completed stopped flying to one U.S. airport

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Hawaii Asks Americans Not To Visit From The Mainland

by Gary Leff

hawaii
Mar 18 2020

With 14 confirmed cases of coronavirus including the state’s first case of community spread, the Governor of Hawaii is asking Americans on the mainland not to visit for the next 30 days. Hawaii travel has been one of the few bright spots for airlines, and early on in this crisis Oahu was one of only two major hotel markets to be doing well.

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American Closing 11 Clubs, Restricting Service In Others

by Gary Leff

Mar 18 2020

Due to low passenger volumes and suspended flights, American is closing 11 lounges so far. I expect that number to grow.

There are various state laws that are affecting service in Admirals Clubs. Perhaps the most extreme place you can social distance inside of an airport is in American’s Flagship First Dining. But they’ve had to close it at New York JFK because ‘restaurants’ are required to be closed. Some won’t let you take food with you, others won’t let you eat the food they give you there. And in some places alcohol cannot be served.

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