Real effect of stock buybacks

I have often expressed my frustration with American Airlines on this site. I have even contemplated moving out of Charlotte so I could fly a better airline. My complaint is not about cancelled flights or an occasionally surly associate. My complaint is that it is obvious $AAL is not investing in their employees and processes. Their commitment to the customer experience is too obviously missing.

With all the recent press on airline bailouts and stock buybacks, I thought I'd run some top-level numbers to see if my assumptions are right.

At first glance, it appears that AAL is in line with key competitors on total buybacks.

However, once we take into account Free Cash Flow (FCF), it is obvious AAL is spending money they don't have. Since the only reason to buy your own stock is to artificially inflate the price, only a small portion of profits (FCF in this case) should be allocated to stock buybacks.

The end result of this waste of capital is a downward spiral of their own making. Create a negative experience and customers will pay less. This leads to lower profits, then a lower stock price, which they solve by spending (or borrowing) money to artificially raise the stock price instead of creating a good experience. Rinse. Repeat.

I'm not sure $AAL will survive this downturn. I'm certain that the leadership team should not. The tens of thousands of employees have been betrayed. For them, and only them, offer some form of financial support.