The CAB's Domestic Passenger Fare Investigation
Volume: Volume 5, No. 1
Issue: Spring 1974
Pages: pp. 205-222
Authors: George W. Douglas and James C. Miller III
Title: The CAB's Domestic Passenger Fare Investigation
Abstract: For the second time in its 35-year history, the CAB has undertaken a general, in-depth investigation of airline pricing policies. This Domestic Passenger Fare Investigation is described below, primarily from the standpoint of the presentations made by the U.S. Department of Transportation, for whom the authors served as expert witnesses. The investigation is important in two specific respects: first, it marks what could prove to be a significant and possibly "enlightened" change in CAB regulatory policy; and second, the analysis presented in the case should be applicable to a broad range of quasi-competitive industries subject to economic regulation. But while the decisions rendered in the investigation form grounds for optimism, recent Board actions raise severe questions about the permanency of this new policy direction.
JEL Classification
Economics of Transportation (6150)
Regulation of Public Utilities (6130)
Public Policy Towards Monopoly and Competition (6120)