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Thesis: Ph. D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 1979 / Bibliography: leaves 344-347. / by William M. Swan. / Ph. D. / Ph. D. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics

After an unfortunate series of accidents in the mid 1930’s the Air Transport Association (ATA) lobbied Congress for regulation of the industry. The ATA claimed that unfair competition was endangering the public safety. The Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938 created the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) and gave the CAB the authority to regulate the industry. During the regulation era airline ridership increased and safety improved. During the regulation period, opportunity for comparing the safety record of the regulated industry with the record of the unregulated portions of the industry was limited. The few attempts made rendered inconclusive results. During a period of high inflation and high interest rates in the 1970’s interest in deregulating the airlines arose. With passage of the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978, interest in the effects of regulation on airline safety was renewed. More than a decade has passed since deregulation. The industry has continued to improve its safety record during the deregulation period. The question remains: "How has deregulation affected airline safety?" In this study records of airline accidents and incidents investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board are examined. The occurrences are divided into those with causes that are under the airlines control and those that are not under their control. Those under the airlines control are regressed against time and a dummy variable for deregulation. The possible effects of airline profitability on the results are also explored. The results indicate that deregulation had an adverse effect on airline safety. The effects of alternative formulations are also examined. The effect though statistically significant is small. It does not suggest the need to return to a regulated airline industry. But, it does suggest the need for additional research into the connection between airline safety and competition.

The writer purposes in this study to make a survey of the airline industry in the United States from 1940 through 1946. Various phases of the development and present status of air commerce are to be dealt with, including historical growth of the airline industry, the present significance of air transportation in the nation, the federal regulation of airplanes, problems and services involved in commercial air transportation, the operation of airlines, and the future of air transportation.

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In the wake of September 11, 2001 events, most western airlines find themselves in financial difficulties. In their struggle to stay in the sky, many airlines look for pro-active tools and fitting strategies. The primary focus of this thesis is to discuss the unique characters of the airline business, particularly, within the context of US bankruptcy reorganization law (Chapter 11). After identifying primary competing interests in this perspective, the hypothesis explored is that Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization provides a forum that may uniquely address any of the specific needs of the different key players, if invoked strategically. The corporate strategy of "facilitated survival" as provided for within the context of US bankruptcy law is definitely worthwhile for the airline industry to take note of.

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The deregulation of the airline industry created a myriad of changes in the U.S. air transport system that has both defended and sparked debate on the wisdom of such policy change for over three decades. One of the promises of deregulation from its proponents in the 1970s was increased competition that would lead to a reduction in fares for consumers. Historic data and literature has indeed shown this to be to the case as average airfares have trended downward especially over the last twenty years. Nonetheless, the industry has become much more complex since deregulation in terms of pricing to the point that very sophisticated yield management computer models are used to achieve an optimum balance between load factors and price. Consequently, this has in turn translated into a haphazard experience for most air travelers in the United States; for instance, the cost of a ticket is sometimes lower traveling from coast to coast than within a particular region of the U.S. and paid fares for the exact same trip can deviate dramatically, often based on variation in the date of purchase. Additionally, this has also resulted in a spatial pattern where certain regions throughout the country have enjoyed lower airfares more so than others. This research seeks to identify this regional disparity using a geographically weighted regression and spatial autoregressive models in a sample of 6,200 routes between 80 primary U.S. airports. The results from the global model showed that variables which measure competition (airlines), operating cost (flights, distance) and elasticity (layover time) proved to be statistically significant and had a positive relationship with airfare The GWR results indicated that while some factors like distance, and hub size, were statistically significant almost nationwide, other factors such as frequency, presence of low cost carriers, and numbers of airlines were only statistically significant at certain airports. Finally, the spatial regressions models indicate that the spatial autocorrelation found in U.S. airfares resemble the first order properties of spatial autocorrelation (i.e. spatial heterogeneity) and not the second order properties (i.e. spatial dependence). / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2014. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

The overriding theme of this thesis concerns the level of antitrust enforcement within the U.S. airline industry by the agencies entrusted with this task. / After a brief Introduction, Chapter I will examine whether concentration within the U.S. airline industry is a natural phenomenon or an ordinary monopoly/oligopoly resulting from the behaviour of competitors. In concluding that a natural monopoly/oligopoly does not exist, Chapter II will analyse the policy being antitrust enforcement in the industry. / Chapter III will then use the implementation of S 408 of the Federal Aviation Act (FAA) by the Department of Transportation (DOT) as an example of such a policy. Finally, the remaining chapters are dedicated to an analysis of the CRS industry. By using this industry as an example, the writer will suggest that, by removing barriers to entry through aggressive use of S 411 of the FAA, the future may see new entrants enter the market. Emphasis will be placed on the attitude of the DOT in this regard.