This might come as a surprise but the flag carriers you mention will go to the wall if they cant stand alone without state funding. Swiss Air is already gone so is Sabena, Aer Lingus barely scraped through and Alitalia is on the brink. If these companies can go bust or come close to it then anyone can. The Belgian government let one of the biggest carriers in Europe go because it was powerless to do anything about it. Simple fact in Europe NO STATE FUNDING not even through the back door, it's unfair to other private operators.