Issue Summary

Twenty years ago, with oil prices low and profits at their peak, U.S. airlines went shopping for airplanes. In one memorable deal from the late 1990s, Delta ordered up to 644 Boeing jets. US Airways became the largest Airbus customer in the world with an order for up to 400 jets. And so on. But in retrospect, with firm contracts for well in excess of 1,000 Airbus and Boeing planes from 1995 to 2000, U.S. airlines had grossly over-ordered. This became evident a decade later, when oil prices were high and bankruptcy filings rampant. Chronically short of cash, U.S. airlines—from…