Companies has done way worse things to make money, this needs a regulatory fix. If they don't do it some other company would just fill those slots and fly empty and come out ahead, even a minor company would raise capital and take the slots since it means lots of future profits. This is the strength of capitalism, if one player drops the ball another will pick it up, meaning if you want the player to drop the ball then you need to not just complain about that player but instead you need to remove the incentives to hold the ball.