Airline executives, lawmakers laud industry bailout
WASHINGTON — Senators and top airline executives used an oversight hearing Wednesday to tout the results of a $54 billion bailout, saying taxpayers kept a critical industry from being crushed under the weight of the coronavirus pandemic.
In what one senator called a “love fest,” members of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation said quick federal action prevented bankruptcies, saved hundreds of thousands of aviation jobs and enabled the critical industry to rebound more swiftly than in other nations.
“I know that we’re in a better place than where we would have been,” said committee chairwoman Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash.
“It worked,” added Southwest Airlines chief executive Gary Kelly.
Although government grants that were part of the Payroll Support Program had barred airlines from involuntarily forcing employees out, tens of thousands of airline workers left their jobs on their own accord during the pandemic. Several carriers, including American Airlines, Spirit Airlines and Southwest suffered well-publicized service disruptions this summer and fall, in part because of staffing issues.
Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., said delays and cancellations on carriers that had overly ambitious ramp-up plans stranded thousands of passengers, which he termed “frustrating and unacceptable.” But Wicker said those disruptions should not obscure the bigger picture that bold government action paid off.
“PSP kept the airlines from collapsing entirely. PSP is the reason flight cancellations were limited to mere days and not months and years. And PSP is the reason ticket prices did not skyrocket,” Wicker said.
Doug Parker, the American Airlines CEO who was a key advocate for federal aid in early 2020, said a spate of cancellations earlier this year started with bad winds. He said that was compounded by difficulties in getting employees to volunteer beyond their standard working hours.
“It’s difficult to get people to pick up extra time,” Parker said. “There is a global pandemic going on.”
While the rescue package was being debated early last year, some outside researchers had argued that airlines should only be given loans, not grants. Parker raised that issue Wednesday, painting a grim picture of where that would have left the industry. He said he would have taken the loans, but then made decisions based on the imperative to repay them.
“With no demand, I can’t speak for everyone, but I’m certain most all of us would have shut down our airlines, furloughed everyone, waited for demand to return,” Parker said.
Passenger advocates said they were disappointed they weren’t included among the witnesses Wednesday.
United CEO Scott Kirby faced questions from Republican lawmakers about the airline’s decision to require employees to be vaccinated against the coronavirus.
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, called the decision “deeply disturbing” and pressed Kirby on how many employees had been fired as a result. Kirby said six pilots had been fired, while 80 had been placed on unpaid leave. In all, Kirby said 200 employees left the company.
“We did this for safety,” Kirby said. “We believe it saves lives. That is my No. 1 obligation, safety.”
The exchange prompted Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., to urge people to get vaccinated. “I am tired of this pandemic,” he said. “I’m tired of what we are dealing with. We have a tool that works.”
Wicker brought up the issue of mask requirements on planes, asking the executives when passengers might be able to get rid of them.
“I think the case is very strong that masks don’t add much, if anything, in the air cabin environment. It’s very safe, very high quality, compared to any other indoor setting,” Kelly said.
Sara Nelson, international president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, which represents nearly 50,000 flight attendants at 17 airlines. said the mask requirement should remain in effect, noting it is a workplace safety issue. She said she was troubled by the inconsistent messaging on the matter.