In October, the Department of Justice and the Department of Transportation issued a request for information (RFI) on competition in air transportation. In new research, Director of Competition Policy Fred Ashton reviews the history of airline deregulation, walks through the current state of airline competition, and considers the effects of competition.

Ashton concludes:

The DOJ and DOT’s RFI was intended to better understand the competitive state of the airline industry and to study whether consolidation, anticompetitive conduct, or other business activities impact the availability and affordability of air travel. The data show that competition in the airline industry is strong and has intensified over the past two-and-a-half decades.

Efforts to reregulate the airline industry threaten to unravel the progress made through competitive markets, limiting consumer choices and increasing the cost of air travel.

Read the analysis