Herb Kelleher, the legendary founder of Southwest Airlines, proponent of low fares, and friend of deregulation, delivered the Charles A. Lindbergh Memorial Lecture tonight at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. He reflected on his long career in aviation, on the fundamentals of Southwest, and offered a few comments about the future [...]
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Greenhouse gas emissions from domestic commercial aviation have fallen 13 percent between 2000 and 2006, according to recently released figures from the Environmental Protection Agency. I blogged about a USA Today article on this report last week, and I finally tracked down the original, cleverly obscured on the EPA website. (The aviation-relevant sections are here [...]
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[Alfred] Kahn and the [Civil Aeronautics Board] were facing not just one but three airline mergers in the summer of 1978. In addition to the battle for National, Continental Airlines and Western Air Lines had filed for approval to merge, and two local service carriers — North Central Airlines and Southern Airways — also wanted [...]
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According to an article in USA Today, an EPA report indicates that the U.S. commercial aviation industry, despite having expanded substantially since 2000, has reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 13 percent. I’m trying to track down the EPA report (which is not readily available online) to probe these numbers further.
These findings dovetail with [...]
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The House Aviation Subcommittee is holding a hearing today on the environmental impact of aviation, especially emissions. I won’t be able to cover the entire session, but I’ll give you what I can.
Representative Jerry Costello (D-Ill.) offers his opening statement. He emphasizes that the need to reduce emissions is a corollary of the need to [...]
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Alfred Kahn, the eminent economist and chairman of the Civil Aeronautics Board who oversaw airline deregulation in the 1970s, has published a fascinating new working paper on the AEI Reg-Markets Center site. He addresses the difference between “liberal” and “progressive” views on economic policy and regulation, and he argues that “progressivism” as defined by those [...]
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In 1929, Juan Trippe, president of Pan American Airways, was competing for the lucrative airmail contract for Puerto Rico. (At that time, holding an airmail contract was virtually the only way for a U.S. airline to stay in business.) His competitor, West Indian Aerial Express, was already operating on the line and competing for the [...]
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Posted in Evan's Commentary, tagged airports, business, competition, Merger Mania 2008, mergers, network airlines, regulation, united, us airways on April 28, 2008 | No Comments »
Now that Continental has turned down suitor United, the latter is weighing a desperation move: merging with US Airways to create the world’s new largest airline (surpassing Delta-Northwest, assuming that goes through). The airlines may announce a tie-up within the next fortnight. Therefore, it’s time for another Merger Mania 2008 antitrust evaluation.
As you’ll remember from [...]
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Cliff Winston and Bob Crandall of Brookings have an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal today on airline safety. They argue that “the FAA needs a cozy relationship with the airlines. This is because the agency needs to at least give the appearance that it is having a significant impact on safety.” They place the [...]
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With Silvio Berlusconi’s expected victory in this week’s elections, Air France-KLM is “poised to walk away from a deal” to acquire failing and flailing state airline Alitalia, reports the Telegraph. Berlusconi has expressed his hostility to the proposed deal, already on the rocks due to union opposition, calling it “unacceptable and, indeed, offensive for our [...]
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