Originally Posted by
WineCountryUA
True but airfares were (in real terms) significantly higher, the operating costs were significantly lower and yet the airlines were losing money on a regular basis, those days are long gone and are not realistic expectations for measuring performance today of any (publically owned / operated) airline.
I get this---those days are long gone, a relic of the times when institutional investors actually gave money to airlines because 747s are so cool, not to make money. Bankruptcy? Who cares. 747s are cool. What's amazing is that mentality lasted for so long, not that it went away.
But it doesn't mean that I can't be incredulous when someone argues that any of the BIG 3 are going in the right direction in terms of anything customer-facing, other than airfare and (possibly) some aspects of premium international travel.