Another two bite the dust...almost

UPDATE 2: Another call for re-regulation of the airline industry. Pressure seems to be building.

UPDATE: And the process of screwing the flying public has begun.

Recently, United and Continental have both made major announcements regarding reductions in their fleets, jobs and the precarious state of their companies. Publicly the reason for these actions is the rising cost of oil prices. However, these announcements raise two important questions about these companies and the airline industry generally:

1) Why haven't these companies and the industry acknowledge that oil is a finite resource and demand will some day soon outpace supply. Why hasn't the industry invested the money and time in researching and developing alternative fuels for airplanes. Like most businesses concerned only with the bottom line, the airline industry has seemed happy to pass the buck on to the next CEO, the next Board of Directors, the next generation of customers. Now we're seeing the costs of such a mentality.

2) Why hasn't the government moved to reverse the insane policy of airline deregulation that started some 30 years ago. The negative consequences of deregulation are coming into full focus, and as these companies struggle to stay financially afloat. Because profit is the ultimate goal of the airlines, a goal which may not necessarily be in line with our goals as customers and a country, we just can't afford to leave it to industry to self-regulate, particularly when it comes to the airlines which play such an important role in our lives and economy. Ultimately it won't be the CEOs, the investors, or top management of these airlines that feel the pain of our misguided deregulation policy. It will be the workers and customers that ultimately bear that burden.