< Back to Timeline

  Timeline:
  DATA

  1890 Census
  Hull House
  Infant Mortality
  Foreign Born
  Boas' Study
  Middletown
  Depression Indicators
  Recent Social Trends
  Middletown II
  African Americans
  Women
  Standard of Living
  Baby Boom
  Suburban Growth
  Sex
  Professional Women
  Social Disruptions
  Inflation
  Middletown III
  Air Fares
  Stock Market
  Crime
  Middletown IV

Air Fares

1978 to 1999 - Average airline fare fell 40% (adjusting for inflation). 

1978 in 1999 - Airline travel increased from 227 billion passenger-miles in 652 billion passenger-miles. 

In the late 1970s, commercial airline travel was heavily regulated. Airlines had to get permission from the Civil Aeronautics Board for any change in their routes, schedules, prices, and so forth. Airlines could not adjust their equipment, schedule or fares to keep up with shifts in passengers' needs. Planes flew half-empty at odd times, and tickets were expensive. An economist named Alfred Kahn was named to head the CAB. He deregulated the airlines and arranged to have CAB abolished. New airlines sprang up to meet growing consumer demand for service between new locations. Airline schedules were revised. Fare structures were modified. The average number of empty seats declined. Fares fell 40 percent. Air travel almost doubled from 1980 to 1997.

Related Links:

Program Segment 14

Interviews:
Kahn
DeMuth

<< Back to Timeline

PBS Program | Trends of the Century | Viewer's Voices | Interactivity | Teacher's Guide