The "deal" is mandated by a regulation. These companies couldn't choose the deal if the regulation putting forth the deal did not exist at all. As a sibling com

The "deal" is mandated by a regulation. These companies couldn't choose the deal if the regulation putting forth the deal did not exist at all. As a sibling commenter noted, people (and organizations) respond to incentives. When you make a regulation that incentivizes these companies to use up slots, they're going to do it simply because they know the competition will also do it, and if they do not, they lose. These rules were poorly planned, as they did not account for the incentives or the unintended consequences in the event that these flights did not actually have to occur. And after this happens, they're attempting to blame businesses for responding to the incentive. Say I were to go into a crowded room and announce that I will give $10,000 to whoever breaks some specific person's nose. Who's to blame? Yeah, probably some combination of the people who took the money and especially me, who put forward the idea or "deal" that resulted in people taking action when they otherwise would not have done anything like this.