Airlines are begging for a bailout, but they’ve used 96% of their cash on stock buybacks over the past 10 years.
The Trump administration has proposed $50 billion of emergency aid for airlines ravaged by widespread cancellations amid the coronavirus pandemic.
But critics are deriding it as a bailout to an industry that made bad financial decisions.
Resistance to the plan emerged among Democrats and even some Republicans. They’re concerned that extra money will go straight to share buybacks, as they have in the past.
Their pushback is reminiscent of past criticisms relating to how companies have spent excess capital.
