Lookleft is right, I don’t have any skin in the game. However I have enough empathy not to want to see anyone get a taste of some of the crap that is going to be fed to the Virgin staff, and as a taxpayer and Australian, I don’t want to see the general public and the taxpayer screwed either. That is why I am suggesting that you cannot be too cynical about what is happening. Particularly since Bains strategy has been so secretive.
As for asset stripping, there is plenty to strip. The main asset is the simply huge cash flow that airlines generate, not the actual profit. Any financier will walk over broken glass to get at that. Then there are all the leasing arrangements. They can all bear a small overhead fee as well. That’s the name of the game these days - fees.
Bain could channel all leases through a company it owns (in the cayman islands?) and take a nice percentage. Then flog the airline as a. good news story, sell the leasing business and walk away..