Those in the airline business only have two questions left to ask themselves: how much cash do we have and how long is it going to take to burn it? The effects of the terrorist attack on the US didn’t take long to take their toll. Last week, both British Airways and Virgin Atlantic announced that they were cutting 8,200 jobs between them, while US carriers and aircraft maker Boeing are shedding nearly 100,000 jobs in total.
For City lawyers who specialise in the industry, it is not hard to predict what is going to happen. One need only remember the events during the Gulf War of 1991, which produced a prolonged industry slump, despite the fact it took place during an underlying surge in air travel that was to last for most of the decade.
