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That didn't address the issue at all. They would just buy the leases and keep the competition out that way; no difference.

• barry-cotter 7y ago
  That means one of two things; the slots aren’t worth that much or they were sold for less than they were worth. If they’re almost worthless, as not using them suggests their not being used is no great loss. If they are worthwhile then either they’ll be used, someone else will buy them or the owner is setting money on fire by not using a valuable asset, in much the same way as someone who uses a vacant lot in Manhattan as a planning lot instead of building a skyscraper on it. If you want a slot to go to its most valuable use sell it to the entity that values it most, whether permanently or by auctioning it yearly.
  • Talanes 7y ago
    If you're an established player, keeping essential assets out of the hands of new competition has value in itself. Example: when the Vons and Kmart from my hometown got together and opened a new shopping complex together, they both retained their prior leases for years, knowing that those locations were the only real estate in town large enough to house a real competitor. The fact that neither could utilize that real estate didn't make it worthless, and in this case actually made it more valuable to them: the town couldn't support multiple large retailers simultaneously, so any competition ran the risk of putting them out of business. The same concept easily applies to airline slots, an established player that is at capacity on how many slots they can profitably use still has some incentive to keep other airlines out, because any new players will be tapping into their existing market.