when capacity decreases as is always does then prices and rates will firm up those surviving thus far will be the fittest and worthy of survival
whilst I donīt think your basically wrong, there is a big part of the equation left out here: the owner renting the airplane to the operator willing to take negative figures on the balance sheet for how long and how high, also how good (some) operator hide a tsunami of costs that comes down on an aircraft owner every once in a while (HSI/Overhauls/etc). I have witnessed stunning things in my time in that respect.
So, I think
worthy of survival
is not necessarily true.