Did anybody suggest that there is a free, or open market in the US for airlines? Or what decides what airfares will be? One or both of these was my impression from some post above.
"Our" US government, which allegedly deregulated the airline industry way back in 1978, sucks cash out of the airlines like a movie vampire ready for winter hibernation. Nosferatu would be envious.
Unless I'm wrong, it has been written in some journals that out of the typical average airline ticket, about 25% is paid to the federal government for taxes and fees, as if fuel prices have NOT increased a large amount.
A large number of US citizens often profess their distaste for what appears to be any strong government (innconvenient, but federal employees' ranks have swelled to a large degree under the GOP alone) and "socialism".
Well, it
is already here and is ripping off the airlines and the staff.
The passenger does not pay these huge taxes and fees to Washington, DC, the airlines pay these obscenely bloated, extortionate sums.
And of the three government gentleman who manage the seriously under-funded PBGC (Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation), two of them allegedly also run the ATSB (Air Transport. Stabilization Board), which decides whether to loan money to airlines, and how much. A conflict of interest or not? The negligent practices of many airlines has inspired other industries to also get rid of their pension obligations. A true 'class act'
to showcase how to treat working people and the retired.
If these comments are generally true, then how else does one define and exemplify government corruption and exploitation?
If they are not basically true, then so be it-but show us the facts.
But if these are generally accurate, then to a certain degree, our US governments' actions have worsened the financial nightmare of the airlines. Theseare admittedly oversimplified comments for a complex subject, but in the meantime the GOP has, to a large extent, been in control of Congress
.
PS: Looking at pilot salaries, Southwest is NOT a low-cost airline
. Their B-737 monthly pay is probably the highest in the US, by far, and probably among the highest in the world when looking at a typical flying month. Sometimes I wish that I had earned a B-737 type rating years ago and applied to SWA. But the idea of giving up a few years of seniority here was, in the good old days, considered a bad decision. Not so anymore, if one is fairly young.