That would involve selling shares at a low price after buying them at a high price. This would make management look stupid.
It is difficult for management not to look stupid if it is stupid. Airlines were doing well because everything was doing well, not because airlines management was non-stupid.
Not having a car accident on an open road with no other cars in a perfect weather does not make one a good driver. It just makes one not a bad driver.
They should be made to look stupid, since using "96% of free cash flow" to buy back shares means they left the companies that they manage grievously vulnerable to disruption.
They should pay for privatizing their gains and trying to collectivize their losses.