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Both the journalist suggest that the airline execs should have done something different with the FCF without stating what (dividends? salaries? investments?) and why.

From your tone and reply it seems you agree, so maybe you can clarify this. What else should they have done with their FCF? Would everything be OK if they paid everything in dividends like utilities? Plow everything into investments like Amazon? Into what? Buying all their airplanes, rather than leasing airplanes? Stashing everything in a huge pot of treasuries like Apple? Giving their crew and support staff big raises?