Even with the benefit of lower levels of borrowing during spring and summer (when punters pay for their holidays), interest payments are consuming about a third of profits – that's a risk too far in an industry where fuel prices, and even volcanic ash clouds, can cause havoc.
Already, one credit counseling organization says it is getting post-holiday interest from consumers concerned about debt.
The plans other people make for their summer holiday seldom interest me, as my own arrangements are established in a definite groove, and practically from the beginning of last winter I have been bored by the groans and conjecturings of a certain Mr. Cave, a little plum of a gentleman I list among my acquaintances.
Debt relief, as proposed by Mr Brown, may not be what these countries need or want in the long run, though a holiday from interest payments would be a quick and easy way to improve their cash flow in the next few months.
In this week's Your Money, Declan Curry looks at holiday insurance, interest free mortgages and lending money to strangers.
The $199 price will certainly carry it through the upcoming holiday but interest might wane after the holiday spending season.
They shared holidays, friends, interests, and – on many weekends – a domestic and sexual life in Forster's Brunswick Square flat.
Crucially, the interest "holiday" at the start of the deal is factored into the later payments.
You can then pay off chunks of your debt while taking a holiday from the interest.
The measures under contemplation are essentially tweaks, such as an interest holiday and a €10bn voluntary buy-back at a discount of IOUs held by the private sector.
