There is a good article on Slate on this topic. A reader comment at the end sums it up, I think:

"Socialism for the rich, capitalism for the poor."

Here is a portion of the article, with the link to it:

http://slate.msn.com/Economics/01-09-27/Economics.asp

What if the airlines go bankrupt? So what if they do? They'll be reorganized, and the profitable flights will continue to be flown—if not by existing carriers, then by new carriers who will step in to fill any breach. All those jumbo jets will still be out there, and as long as enough people want to fly, someone will be flying them.

So, what does the airline bailout accomplish? One thing and one thing only—it enriches the millions of people who own airline stocks at the expense of the millions of others who don't. And in the process, it undermines the very principles that we uphold and our enemies want to destroy.