Big Airlines Have Enough Cash to Be Safe—For Now

What's the plus side of the airline industry not upgrading their fleets, cutting everyone's pay and getting the government to pay their employees' pensions? They now have enough cash on hand to absorb the extreme spike in fuel costs and a downturn in the economy. Even if fuel prices remain the same and revenue decreases slightly, according to one analyst, the airlines will still have a war chest of nearly $15 billion at the end of 2009. That's not to say everyone will fare well: Frontier would only have $4 million left in that scenario. And while the failures of ATA and Champion are not really comparable because they are so small, they show that financing is hard to come by, with even hedge funds refusing to bail them out.

:arrow: Cash Cushion Helps Big Airlines, For Now [AP, via Google]