[bjarneh]

> The plane was conceived in the era of big government bankrolled air travel and doesn't have a role in the reality of flying buses we see today.

Doesn't government still bankroll the whole airline industry? I read about some massive handouts to both Lufthansa and The Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) due to the coronavirus; perhaps it was even more extreme 50 years ago.

[the_watcher]

The government doesn't bankroll air travel, at least not in the same way. I believe the quoted statement is referring to propping up the prices of flights via the pre-deregulation era. The government no doubt supports airlines in plenty of other ways, but the mechanism has changed, as have the behaviors it incentivizes.