Starting an airline now is the time to do it. Leases are as cheap as chips and if you can raise the money (difficult bit...) then getting going in a slump can be beneficial as long as you can survive until the upswing.
Good companies should always reward their staff for a good performance. If you can help the people who work there to take some ownership of the airline, then that is invariably beneficial. You get far fewer jobsworths and a much better team spirit.
I know having happy workers seems to be a crime in aviation today (well for the most part any way) but that's because most airlines seem to be run purely on the basis of numbers, rather than less easy to define qualities such as customer experience or quality of service.
I am convinced that there is a market for an airline that combines some old school principles such as customer service and providing value for money, but combining that with no frills principles.
I still remember GO very fondly as a passenger and having very current experience of working at the old dinosaur that is bmi I know that when the doors close on the place, then I for one will miss it because of the atmosphere. If somewhere is a "nice place to work" then that's great. I'm not in flying just for the money, I'm in it because I love it first and foremost, so getting paid well, but being treated like crap doesn't really appeal.
A co-op is simply a way of involving the people who work for the company in more than just a financial way and get them caring about the place for reasons other than the monthly pay cheque.
There's nothing socialist about that, unless you believe that simply treating people like adults rather than wage slaves is somehow socialism gone mad.