The problem with starting an airline is that the pilot's union has the leverage to capture all profits: http://philip.greenspun.com/flying/unions-and-airlines

The problem with starting an airline is that the pilot's union has the leverage to capture all profits: http://philip.greenspun.com/flying/unions-and-airlines http://philip.greenspun.com/flying/unions-and-airlines The key issue is that you don't just need to be certified to fly a 737, you need to be certified to fly a 737 for a specific airline. This makes strikes extremely powerful because you can't easily hire replacements.