From TIME · Ganesh Sitaraman · · 2m
How to fix flying's misery
Airline deregulation promised competition and lower prices. Instead, consolidation, fees, and shrinking service have made flying expensive and unreliable.
In brief
Airline deregulation promised competition and lower prices. Instead, consolidation, fees, and shrinking service have made flying expensive and unreliable. Deregulation has left U.S. airlines consolidated and extractive. The author argues treating air travel as essential infrastructure with regulation could restore…
Summer fares soared 27 percent
Higher fuel costs pushed airline ticket prices up as much as twenty-seven percent during summer twenty twenty-six. Fall and winter fares are expected to be nine to eighteen percent higher than last year.
Airlines raked in billions in fees
U.S. carriers collected more than seven billion dollars in bag fees alone in twenty twenty-five. Airlines also charge for seat selection and have shrunk seats and legroom while service to smaller cities has worsened.
Deregulation promised competition
Congress passed the Airline Deregulation Act in nineteen seventy-eight to inject competition into air travel. The theory was that the free market would lower prices and create dozens of new airlines serving all communities.
Big airlines crushed the competition
Instead, large airlines undercut smaller rivals, pushing them into bankruptcy and buying them up. Today Delta controls nearly eighty percent of flights in Atlanta and American has approximately ninety percent of flights in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Airlines pioneered dynamic pricing
Unleashed by deregulation, airlines were pioneers of dynamic pricing, changing fares frequently for passengers. They unbundled their product to charge for every aspect of travel, from seats to boarding order.
Treat airlines as infrastructure
The author argues air travel is essential infrastructure that should be regulated. Airlines should serve all communities with affordable fares and have duties to the country in return for public benefits they receive.
Congress can restore fairness
Congress could set minimum seat sizes, ban personalized and dynamic pricing, and require transparent pricing. A draft pick system could ensure smaller cities get consistent service from all major airlines.
Build resilience into the system
Airlines need a rainy day fund paid into during profitable years. Caps on hub concentration would prevent crises in one city from cascading delays across the country and reduce taxpayer bailouts.
The one thing
Deregulation has left U.S. airlines consolidated and extractive. The author argues treating air travel as essential infrastructure with regulation could restore reliability and fairness.
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