Ah, 1978 and U.S. airline deregulation. What a thing of beauty. Suddenly there seemed to be a new airline popping up each year, all vying for a piece of the pie in the sky. Then how to drum up business. Remember the days of airfare wars? A new start-up would lower prices to attract business and the big boys , no longer with the luxury of their monopoly, had no choice but to follow suit as their passenger counts fell in step.
The consumer was obviously elated! Even those who previously couldn't afford to visit Grandma in Boca, were suddenly able to take to the skies; kiddies and all.
Those were the clear benefits of deregulation and the consumer loved it - but corporate profits did not.
Then came the rise of jet fuel. Did the government intervene to stop it? If they did, it was too little too late. (click chart to enlarge) It doesn't take a rocket scientist to imagine what that did to profits and prices.
Oddly enough with dramatically less demand, fuel prices haven't
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