The deregulation of the airline industry in 1978 came about after decades of government imposed regulation that had been part of the airline industry since its inception. The deregulatory effort was part of a larger concern with government regulation in general and with controversies about perceived negative effects on competition in the airline industry of government regulation, which was seen as a growing thicket of regulations and controls that stifled competitive impulses and regulated nearly every aspect of the industry and its operations. Some saw this as a form of government micromanaging that was taking a toll, and deregulation was seen as a way of giving the industry over to those who had the highest stake in seeing it run properly, efficiently, and competitively--the airlines themselves. However, there were also fears that the competition that would arise would be entirely among the large national and international airlines, to the detriment of the smaller commuter airlines and routes. The thesis offered is that deregulation has had a negative effect on commuter airlines. An examination of the deregulated environment and history since deregulation will show whether this is the case or not.
Airline industry regulation and deregulation is raised as an issue to address economic questions, safety concerns, and the competitive environment. The airline industry in the United States was effectively deregulated in 1978, and there have been numerous changes as a consequence in the years since that act. In recent years, critics of deregulation have pointed particularly to major air disasters as evidence of the negative side of deregulation, particularly for those incidents which involved evidence of poor maintenance and other cost-cutting measures that might place the public at risk. Deregulation affected regulations aimed at more than airline safety, however, and it is in terms of economic impact that deregulation has had...