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Ten years ago the Congress passed the Airline Deregulation Act, ending government control over the routes airlines could serve and the prices they could charge. Deregulation has led to far-reaching changes in the industry. At the request of the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee, this study reviews these developments and discusses policies that the Congress might consider for improving the industry's performance. In keeping with the mandate of the Congressional Budget Office to provide objective analysis, it makes no policy recommendations.
Daniel P. Kaplan played a major role in the development of the project
and wrote the report along with Mark R. Dayton. It was prepared in CBO's
Natural Resources and Commerce Division under the supervision of Everett
M. Ehrlich and Jenifer A. Wishart. Sandra Christensen, David Lindeman,
and Linda Radey of CBO made helpful suggestions. Severin Borenstein, Alfred
E. Kahn, and Daniel Kasper offered a number of valuable comments. The manuscript
was edited by Francis S. Pierce. Margaret Cromartie typed the many drafts,
and Nancy H. Brooks and Kathryn Quattrone prepared the report for publication.
The cover photograph is from Federal Aviation Administration files.
James L. Blum
Acting Director
July 1988
SUMMARY
I. AN OVERVIEW OF AIRLINE DEREGULATION
II. THE INDUSTRY'S CONSOLIDATION
III. AVIATION SYSTEM CAPACITY AND THE PROBLEMS OF CONGESTION AND DELAY
IV. OPTIONS FOR INCREASING COMPETITION AND REDUCING CONGESTION
TABLES | |
1. | New Entrants into Interstate Service |
2. | Mergers and Acquisitions Involving Formerly Regulated Carriers |
3. | Structure of the Domestic Airline Industry |
4. | Effective Numbers of Firms Serving City-Pair Markets |
5. | Airport Size and Carrier Hub Operations, 1985 |
6. | Sources of Airport Investment |
FIGURES | |
1. | Labor Productivity: Actual vs. Trend Under Regulation |
2. | Domestic Air Fares: Actual vs. Trend Under Regulation |
3. | Air Traffic of Scheduled Domestic Carriers: Actual vs. Trend Under Regulation |
4. | Operating Profit Margins on Domestic Operations: Actual vs. Average Under Regulation |
5. | Trust Fund Revenues and FAA Outlays |
6. | Flight Operations of 14 Reporting Air Carriers, October 1987 |
7. | Flight Delays of 14 Reporting Air Carriers, October 1987 |
This document is available in its entirety in PDF.