Why do unsuccessful companies survive? US airlines, aircraft leasing and GE, 2000-2008
Accepted version
Peer-reviewed
Repository URI
Repository DOI
Change log
Authors
Dissanaike, G
Jayasekera, R
Meeks, G
Abstract
Warren Buffett famously commented that the US airline industry had made zero profit in its first nine decades. Subsequently, between the millennium and the Great Financial Crisis the airlines in total lost almost $60bn. Yet no major airline was liquidated or taken over in those nine years. Financial support was repeatedly provided by GE, the conglomerate supplier of leasing finance, engines and servicing. The paper offers a historical perspective on the factors behind this relationship between GE and airlines. It outlines the benefits or costs to GE, airline shareholders, and passengers; the relevance of the model for other industries; and implications for different notions of efficiency.
Description
Keywords
3502 Banking, Finance and Investment, 35 Commerce, Management, Tourism and Services, 3507 Strategy, Management and Organisational Behaviour
Journal Title
Business History Review
Conference Name
Journal ISSN
0007-6805
2044-768X
2044-768X
Volume Title
Publisher
Cambridge University Press
Publisher DOI
Rights
All rights reserved