Well, Malev was shot down by Brussels because it was subsidized, which they consider illegal. Yet, Malev was important for Hungary as a flag carrier and ensured that Hungary was connected by public transport with most European cities.
So why is it legal then that FR and others are getting paid to fly routes which would otherwise be not economically viable? Just because it is important that these cities are connected to others for the local governments?
What the hell is the difference?
Either you want market only and are prepared to see hundreds of flight connections stopped, because they could not live out of their own. OR, you want these connections and then subsidies need to be part of the game.
You can't have it both ways.
How about running public transport like trains this way? you'd end up with lots of villages, cities and others without any connection to the outside world. So trains and other public transport is subsidized and nobody really opposes this because without it, there would be no coverage worth mentioning and you'd end up with ghetto cities and ghost villages all over the place.
So why the hell should a country not be allowed to have a state run and subsidized flag carrier if it so decides?
Or wait, under the new hegemonial rule of the Brussels figureheads, there are no countries anymore, just European provinces? And is it a coincidence, that one of those provinces has a non grata prime minister at the very time that it's flag carrier has the rug pulled from below it?
Malev was serving major cities and connections. Ryan and Wizz will serve their typical "proximity" airports anywhere within 100 miles from those cities. They are no replacement for what Malev used to do. And they do get paid subsidies just as Malev did, but under the different name of local incentive payments or whatever it's called when a region pais them to fly to airports the large carriers won't touch.
The LCCs and their subsidized low cost airports have their reason of being. But so do flag carriers in countries which otherwise become even more isolated and ready for the big take over.
Somehow I hope that Hungary will succeed in rising a sucessor out of the ashes like Bulgaria did when Balkan went bust after a corruption ridden privatisation scandal. Bulgaria Air is doing fine these days, despite Wizz and Ryan giving some money to Plovdiv and the other airports on the side.