Fascinating article. One sentence jumped out to me:

> So Chapter 11 is a relief valve for airlines struggling under the weight of their fixed costs; but it doesn’t really do much to help the system as a whole

The American founders writing a uniform federal system of bankruptcy was a stroke of genius that's been paying dividends for 250 years now.

Chapter 11 bankruptcy as well as all modern corporate law has its roots in the tycoons of the late 19th century. They lobbied and wrote it which is why it's corrupt.