Mr Brown
A bit of a simplistic view on a couple of these matters....
They won't be able to keep the profit in the bank
'Profit' does not simply go into the bank, companies who make profits may have no money in the bank. Profit may lead to a better balance in the bank but many firms who are massively profitable may be cash poor, a profit is a increase in wealth. So my point is that profit is not necessarily liquid hence may not be available to finance losses in difficult times.
if they were leased they could go back to their owners
Aircraft leases are not as simple as hey we will send them back to the lessors, there usually is an agreed lease period, and usually any return of an aircraft before the expiry date of the lease would mean a penalty often quite heavy ones.