You can argue that Barack Obama’s most difficult, and best, decision was to bail out GM. He managed to avoid a crippling loss of jobs and confidence without ultimately losing any of the public’s money. Do the airlines present the same issue, and will they get the same treatment?
Unlike GM, the airlines were not failing at the time of the pandemic. Their existing business model will not, however, survive a lengthy period of distancing and less than full planes, which is very likely to occur. In my view, like the banks in 2008, they are effectively a public utility that needs to be protected; the loss of them would be felt all over the country. And so, I have every expectation that the current bailout will be continued as long as necessary, probably with the government taking a temporary equity stake, as it did with GM, and selling it when things improve.