So you don't think refunding non-refundable tickets had anything to do with it? When you buy a ticket, that money is used to buy gas, pay wages, pay debt, etc.

So you don't think refunding non-refundable tickets had anything to do with it? When you buy a ticket, that money is used to buy gas, pay wages, pay debt, etc. That money is not typically refundable, unless you pay a higher ticket price as an insurance premium against the risk you need a refund. Can you ask an employee for wages back, a gas supplier for a return, or a creditor for a stop payment? As a courtesy, the airlines refunded all tickets (which is a lot of money). Now they don't have a lot of cash. That is not fair, at all. A lot of companies are funded with cheap debt and are not at all affected by the shutdown because their industry is unaffected by the government's meddling. In fact, they're making a lot of money right now.