Fly Me Friendly

Is it just me or do other people out there think that all the Chapter 11 section of the bankruptcy law in the USA is doing is to preserve outdated, inept and clueless airline management? It amazes me how airlines can go into Chapter 11, negotiate with those they owe money to, rip off their employees (forcing harsher conditions/pay & raping their pensions), restructure a little and then come out the other end repeating the same stupidity before, some years later, going back into Chapter 11 to repeat the process.

I can see the benefits to being able to step back, reassess and recover from mistakes, but these guys seem to use it as a business strategy. Is there any way that a company can be prevented from going into Chapter 11 more than once?

Personally, I believe that if an airline is going under, let it. There is pain in many lives but it’s a once-off thing and then everyone moves on. Here in Australia we lost Ansett Airlines and it was a complete disaster. Virgin Blue has grown to fill the gap and QANTAS have produced their JetStar group to target the low end.

It’s time the USA learned to grow up and stop propping up failing business models, idiotic management and militant unions. For a country that claims to be champions of democracy and free trade, they certainly do a lot to stop it from happening.

[updated: After having been advised of the suicides resulting from the collapse of Ansett (over 40 deaths), I've removed the "not the end of the world" comment in relation to the Ansett disaster]