[anamax]

> Also, for airlines the biggest expense is the plane itself. labor is such a minuscule part of the operating budget that if they are in trouble cutting there is just laughable excercise. The pilots, the flight crew, and the ground crew know this. A declining airline will, in this order, cut routes, crew, and then aircraft. With the aircraft being the 800lb gorilla in the room.

Is it expense or what's fixed vs variable?

When you cut routes, you save gas and possibly landing fees. Over time, you save variable labor costs as well. When you layoff people, you save their fixed costs.

When you park a plane, you still owe payments to GE capital. You still have to do a lot of the maintenance. You probably have to pay for parking.