It doesn't help us much now, but I think there is a strong case for expecting them to build up a warchest. American, Delta, and United have all had bankruptcies before, so we know they're not invincible. 9/11 hit them hard in 2001, the Icelandic eruption hit them hard in 2010 .. Airlines are fragile, and I think it's time they started building their own safety nets.

That doesn't mean that this time we should let them sink, but perhaps there do need to be some strings attached. Airlines do just lurch from one crisis to the next, and we can't afford to lurch from one bailout to the next with them - else we may as well nationalise them.