This is exactly right. He is a "court jester" and if you've read Shakespeare you know that the role of the court jester was not primarily to make jokes, but to speak the truth through jokes. This was the only acceptable way to criticize those in power, especially the king. The court jester's comments typically represented what the average person could see was happening, but didn't have the voice to say it. Ferguson and all the other late night comedians fulfill this role. Corporate types and politicians ignore them at their own peril. Many have learned this by actually going on the shows that criticize them as was seen in the last election cycle.
In business, there is a monetary component to just about everything. What's CAL's advertising budget? Tens of millions? Hundreds of millions more likely. Ads, arena sponsorship, bought industry awards. That one clip on Craig Ferguson last night has probably undone millions of dollars of carefully crafted image-making by CAL. Every person who sees that clip will walk away with two things next time they sit in front of expedia, orbitz, or xyz.com travel site: Continental, bad; Delta, good. They may still choose CAL for other reasons, but they'll be working against the image that Ferguson skillfully painted.
An image by the way that could not have been painted so effectively by anyone but a comedian.
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