The CEOs of the 7 largest U.S. airlines told Congress that unless they get a second bailout by the end of the year, don’t expect them to ship vaccines. It’s an idle threat. They’re telling their own workers they’re ready and eager for the vaccine shipping business.
Subsidizing flight attendant salaries makes no sense if you’re talking about readiness of cargo flights. And there are better ways that funneling huge unrelated subsidies to airlines to ensure a business is ready to deliver on a big commitment. Just follow the Operation Warp Speed model and guarantee the purchase of cargo capacity to allow the airlines to plan for it.