Like an epidemic of corporate West Nile virus, the bankruptcy contagion has begun spreading again among the nation's air carriers. It has already stricken UAL's (OTC BB: UALAQ) United Airlines. Last month, Delta Air Lines
Case in point: On Friday, a former victim of the bankruptcy plague (sick from 2002-2003) became the second patient to complain of bankruptcy-related symptoms in 2004. US Airways'
While the symptoms of bankruptcy vary from patient to patient -- in addition to the above infectees, Northwest
To be precise, US Airways says the cure to its ills requires an $800 million dosage, composed of two parts pilots' concessions, two parts mechanics', one part customer service's, and one part flight attendants'. Apparently, adding a salary cut by management would ruin the formula.
Ironically, four out of five physicians agree that the more patients who complain of bankruptcy symptoms and are successfully treated with wage concessions, the faster this disease will spread.
Fool contributor Rich Smith owns no shares in any company mentioned in this article.