A horrible, terrible, very bad, no-good idea from the get-go, just like the deregulation of cable TV. The airlines enjoyed being regulated, as it guaranteed them profits because the government kept everybody on the straight-and-narrow. While fare competition was non-existent, it forced the airlines to compete by quality of service, as the fare is going to be the same on that route no matter which carrier you flew.
Deregulation combined with the volatility of the oil market and the US economy as a whole has turned the airline industry into a roller coaster in the almost 31 years since deregulation officially ended at the close of business, December 31, 1984. Every legacy carrier filed for bankruptcy since deregulation: American, Delta, United, Continental, Northwest, US Airways, Hawaiian, Pan Am before its collapse in 1991, all ended up in Chapter 11.
Then it got to the point where so many were failing that they all just merged. Most people remember Northwest and Delta's merger, United and Continental, Southwest and AirTran, and most recently, American and US Airways, but it's really nothing new. They've been doing this-you guessed it-since deregulation. America West bought the bankrupt US Airways in 2005. American bought the failed Eastern Air Lines, and later TWA.
Then there were the shutdowns due to the unpredictability of the economy. Aloha Airlines' shutdown in 2006 almost caused the University of Hawaii's football team to forfeit all its away games because the carrier who operated their charter flights no longer existed. ATA Airlines shut down in the middle of the night on April 3, 2008 with flights still in the air, leaving thousands of passengers stranded.
Nowadays it seems the only way to make a profit in this industry is to cut every corner and nickel-and-dime every passenger for everything. Spirit Airlines and Allegiant Air were the first to do this idea where your fare only gets you a seat and nothing more. No baggage, not a carry-on or a personal item, no beverage, having to pay to have an airport agent assist you at check-in, even a $15 surcharge
just for the privilege of booking your ticket. They cram as many seats as possible onto their planes, meaning you practically have to hold your breath the entire flight to be able to fit.
The trend of cutting every corner, even in terms of safety, really began in the mid-1990s with ValuJet, who outsourced every non-essential position and knowingly broke federal hazardous cargo laws just to make a buck,
and 110 people died because of it.Deregulation was a terrible idea and yet there's no going back. The good old days of flying are long gone, unfortunately.
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