Originally Posted by
ATNotts
Yes, but the collateral damage is for the suppliers that haven't been paid, and the jobs lost there as a result.
But how would that be different if Chapter 11 and its equivalents didn't exist? Arguably that situation would be worse because the system would be even less stable. I presume at the moment it's an open market, anyone can negotiate for leases on Q-400s, ATRs etc, anyone can go to Birmingham and Manchester and ask for slots, set about hiring, do the 1001 things which need to be done to set up. Loganair and Eastern are completely free to establish a new network if they want to. If a group wants to create Resurrection Airways, then provided they don't have any kind of asymmetric market advantage, inside tracks, why not? They may be crazy, but that's the market.
Obviously the criminal law is there to deal with directors who mislead the market, engage in insider trading etc. But provided there is no criminal behaviour, how far do you go down the line of barring people from paying into ATOL, entering the market and for how long?