Airline Deregulation

The Airline Deregulation Act (ADA) of 1978 initiated an era of fundamental change in the U.S. airline industry. The ADA attempted to address the economic inefficiencies of regulated air carriers by opening the airline marketplace to competition among both established and predicted new entrants. Prior to the passage of the ADA, the U.S. government used regulation as a tool both for protecting the airlines' economic interests and for overseeing the traveling public's safe, reliable access to service. The U.S. airline industry's response to the opportunities presented by government deregulation under the ADA has spawned a wide array of initiatives that have changed the basic nature of this industry's customer-supplier relationship. The consequences of these actions have affected both the structures and the operating philosophies of ...