White House seeks to fix ailing airline industry- Transportation Secretary LaHood holding forum...

MSNBC ^ | 11/11/09 | ap

[Nachum]

WASHINGTON - Prodded by labor unions, the Obama administration is taking its first step toward trying to fix the ailing airline industry, which could lead to a partial return to economic regulation.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood is holding a forum with aviation stakeholders on Thursday to discuss the state of the industry and ways government can help provide economic stability for air carriers. The industry has been rocked by repeated crises in recent years, including the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States; the global SARS virus in 2003; skyrocketing oil prices in recent years; and the current economic downturn.

[Nachum]

Be afraid. Be very afraid.

[equalitybeforethelaw]

Two words a free man never wants to hear Obama going to fix something.

[Nachum]

The list, ping

[tcrlaf]

Government Control, Government Control, Government Control...

DO these Democrat idiot know ANYTHING ELSE???

[pabianice]

Welcome to Post Office Airlines. Body count to follow.

[Cheerio]

Have the man-child buy them all out just like his takeover of GM and Chrysler. IF you own any airline stocks or bonds, now is the time to dump - you saw what happened to Chrysler bond holders.

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

Mista Obama gonna buy me a plane! Yes, yes he is for sure!!

[driftdiver]

and the hits keep on coming

[Domandred]

Oh jeeze are you kidding me?

[Carolina]

Fly the bankrupt skies of ClunkerAir.

[GeronL]

Oh boy. Here we go with regional carriers being confined to their region and an end to competition.

They want prices higher. So the industry won’t be “ailing”.

[what's up]

the global SARS virus in 2003

Oh yeah...airlines were rocked by that year's fad virus. For naught.

This year it was the H1N1. Couldn't get a blanket or pillow to save my life on a recent flight because of this year's "pandemic" which has killed less than the average flu.

[Sacajaweau]

Oh goody...we’re gonna own GM AND all the losing airlines.

[goodnesswins]

Government “fixing”....yeah...that’s more of that HOPE and CHANGE we really need.....sheesh.

[Don Corleone]

Prodded by labor unions, the Obama administration is taking its first step toward trying to fix the ailing airline industry, which could lead to a partial return to economic regulation.

The first steps toward Nationalization (AMTRAK) of the airways. It has to happen under this Communists watch.

[9YearLurker]

Guess that means ‘the fix’ is in on another industry.

[mikelets456]

DO these Democrat idiot know ANYTHING ELSE???

Yes, taxes, corruption, greed, hypocrisy, etc

[sionnsar]

Be afraid. Be very afraid.

As a Platinum-level frequent flyer whose mileage looks to increase dramatically next year, I am.

[Drill Thrawl]

The airlines are failing for the same reasons as Detroit. When you treat your customers with comtempt, they tend to stop buying your products. I used to love to fly. I can not stand it anymore. The people are rude, the process is a major hassle and there are more gotchas and hidden fees than a mortgage.

[DonaldC]

I’m leery of flying anyway next month with the joke of gov security I and my handicap wife will have to endure. If the gov takes over the airlines themselves, I’ll never fly again.

[sionnsar]

The first steps toward Nationalization (AMTRAK) of the airways. It has to happen under this Communists watch.

Yup.

And they'll call it...

AMWAY

[rawhide]

Everytime the government goes to fix something, it costs me more money.

[VRWCmember]

No sector of the economy is safe from this administration’s claims that it is broken and in need of fixing by the government.

[hflynn]

So the Obama, who couldn't fix a traffic ticket, is now going to GM and Lehman Brother the airline industry? A man has got to know his limitations. Obama should be working on nothing more complex than improving the foot traffic pattern at a Chicago soup kitchen.

[FrankR]

More plums for unions.

This fool president is like a kid at Christmas, with so many new toys he doesn't know which one to play with first...so he goes from toy to toy, destroying each and moving to the next one.

Someone needs to photoshop Zero's "joker" head on the "MASK" body shouting "Somebody Stop ME!!!!"

[Publius]

Amtrak will soon be joined by Amsky.

[C210N]

No sector of the economy is safe ...

That is why a recession/near-depression is like a candy store to the statists. Every sector is a nail to their hammer, that they can rationalize to their robot supporters to rally behind in another nationalizing/socializing takeover.

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

I’ll just book flights out of Toronto or Winnipeg. I’m only 12 hours away from both cities.

[dirtboy]

I can fly from Philly to Denver on Southwest for about $240, round trip. Dirt cheap - just the gas to drive one-way to Denver would cost more than that.

By the time the feds get done, kiss that goodbye.

[dirtboy]

I can fly from Philly to Denver on Southwest for about $240, round trip. Dirt cheap - just the gas to drive one-way to Denver would cost more than that.

By the time the feds get done, kiss that goodbye.

[Jeff Chandler]

Barack Hussein Obama

[The Comedian]

Frowning takes 68 muscles.
Smiling takes 6.
Pulling this trigger takes 2.
I'm lazy.

[SkyDancer]

All those idiots have to do is take the Empire Builder train from Seattle to Chicago to see how the airlines should treat their passengers. If the airlines treated their customers just one-tenth the way AMTRAK treats theirs, people would be scrambling to fly ..... on the Empire Builder you couldn’t ask for a better group of people to serve you .... they are fantastic!!!!!

[Carley]

OMG, haven’t they ‘helped’ enough.

[ushr435]

Can anyone say Aeroflot? Anyone remember the 1994 Aeroflot crash that was caused because a pilot allowed his 15-year old son to take the controls of the plane? How about the official response to intoxicated pilots of, “It’s not such a big deal if the pilot is drunk?

I can hardly wait for Obamaflot!

[Paine in the Neck]

“I’m from the government and I’m here to help.”

mmm...mmm...mmmm

Barack Hussein Obama!

[Cboldt]

-- and ways government can help provide economic stability for air carriers. --

Shutter all of them. They're bad for the environment. As for stability, the buggy whip industry is as stable now as it ever was.

[Real Cynic No More]

This is absolutely great! After all, they’ve done so well with the stimulus package, unemployment, and the banking,auto, and housing industries! /sarc

[goodnesswins]

“Obamaflot?”.....HA, we already have OBAMAFLOP!

[Notary Sojac]

Unfortunately the airlines are the only industry in America where consumer service could be no worse if they were staffed with time-serving government drones.

[WeatherGuy]

[mo]

the Chicago Boyz want a piece of EVERY airline ticket. Now. Got it?!!

[RikaStrom]

So will we be traveling by Shank’s Mare from now on?

[hoosier hick]

Well, this ought to stimulate passenger train traffic....

hh

[Joan Kerrey]

White House seeks to fix ailing airline industry

---

Great, just great. Free tickets for everyone but the rich!
Cut executive pay. Ownership by the unions. This will be great for air travel. /s

[Victoria Delsoul]

Obama and his administration can't fix anything, so what makes them think they can help the airline industry?

Of course, whatever they try to do it's not about fixing anything but rather using this as an excuse and a vehicle to expand government control in everything they touch.

[Some Fat Guy in L.A.]

Be prepared to be forced to buy an airline ticket to someplace you didn’t want to go.