Sure. When you combine hyper-competitive capitalism with a market that lacks regulation - taking steps that ensure you are privatizing profits and socializing l

Sure. When you combine hyper-competitive capitalism with a market that lacks regulation - taking steps that ensure you are privatizing profits and socializing losses is just good for business. Arguably, some of these corporations believe it is also necessary to stay in business. Airlines exist in a space with ample competition, limited differentiation, and high price-sensitivity for customers. When that happens, they live or die on number of passengers and valuation compared to competitors. It's hard to increase demand for flights past what is already available. So they pump their numbers for the short term because that's what everyone else is doing, and because the cost of saving money for a rainy day means spooking investors or ceding more passengers to a competitor.