airline deregulation

Give credit where credit is due. Twenty years ago, the Carter Administration and Congress, behind the ceaseless efforts of Alfred E. Kahn, former chairman of the now defunct CAB (Civil Aeronautics Board), deregulated the airlines, a move that has saved consumers billions of dollars. Drinking large dipper fulls from the Conservative/Libertarian intellectual well, the Carter Administration acted on the assumption that a freer market would be better able to meet consumer demands, than a …

…industry as less efficient firms are absorbed or go out of business. Nonetheless, the positive benefits of deregulation are likely to continue as the Internet allows consumers to search for minimum fares. The Heritage Foundation [3] offers some additional proposals to further deregulate and improve the airline industry. These steps include the privatization of airports, market-based pricing for takeoff time slots, and encouragement of foreign competition. This last measure can alleviate the possibility of anti-competitive monopolies