SOUTHWEST AIRLINES

Editorial cartoon showing a smiling passenger with glasses holding a rolling suitcase at an airline check-in counter, where the agent's computer screen displays the word "FREE," illustrating the proposal to make checked bags free as a condition of any Spirit Airlines government bailout

If Spirit Airlines gets a government bailout, bags should fly free

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Spirit Airlines has reportedly asked the Trump Administration for $360 million in emergency funding as jet fuel prices doubled following the Iran conflict. After 9/11, Congress provided $5 billion in grants and $10 billion in loan guarantees to airlines. The COVID-19 Payroll Support Program delivered over $50 billion with conditions including killed change fees, capped executive pay, and restricted buybacks. Any new bailout should require Spirit to include one free checked bag in every fare for a minimum of five years, making taxpayer support deliver tangible passenger benefits.

Editorial cartoon illustration of shocked and panicked travelers running away from an enormous airplane featuring both American Airlines red-white-blue livery and United Airlines globe logo, symbolizing consumer anxiety about the proposed United-American Airlines merger that would control 40% of the U.S. market

Should we allow United and American to merge?

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The United Airlines–American Airlines merger everyone feared may actually be happening.

United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby reportedly met with administration officials at the White House in February to float an audacious proposal: a combination with American Airlines.