Does anyone remember full meals on planes, free wine and lots of leg room? Now, we don't even get peanuts. Well the next time you take a crowded flight with no food, you can blame President Carter. Of course, you can also blame him for cheap fares and plenty of new flight options from carriers like Southwest Airlines. In 1978, Jimmy Carter signed the Airlines Deregulation Act. The Airlines Deregulation Act of 1978 removed government control over fares, routes and market entry of new airlines. Prior to 1978, the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) regulated all domestic interstate air transport routes as a public utility. They set the fares, routes and schedules. The fares were set to allow airlines to make a reasonable 12% profit. Without the ability to compete on fare, airlines instead competed with service. Great for those business travelers, but not so great for the family who wanted to fly to Disney World. It also limited the number of routes, as it took much time for CAB to approve a new route. One famous case was an 8 year delay before Continental Airlines could begin service between Denver and San Diego, and then only because a United States Court of Appeals ordered the CAB to approve the application.
President Jimmy Carter address airline deregulation in his 1978 State of the Union Address:
"Last year, I signed legislation deregulating all cargo air transportation. This year, I will continue to work for passage of the airline regulatory reform bill for passengers. That bill will allow air carriers to compete through lower fares, new services, and new markets, without excessive government interference or disruption of service to small communities."
http://
http://en.wikipedia.org/
http://content.time.com/
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:AirlineDeregulationAct.png
No comments:
Post a Comment