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Why Can't US Airlines Make Money?

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  • Severin Borenstein

Abstract

US airlines have lost nearly $60 billion ($2009) in domestic markets since the 1978 deregulation, most of it in the last decade. The dismal financial record challenges the economics of deregulation. I examine some of the common explanations among industry participants and researchers--including high taxes and fuel costs, weak demand, and competition from lower-cost airlines. Major drivers seem to be the demand downturn after 9/11--demand remains much weaker today than in 2000--and the large cost differential between legacy and low-cost carriers, which has persisted even as the price differential between them has greatly declined.

Suggested Citation

  • Severin Borenstein, 2011. "Why Can't US Airlines Make Money?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 101(3), pages 233-237, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:aecrev:v:101:y:2011:i:3:p:233-37
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    File URL: http://www.aeaweb.org/articles.php?doi=10.1257/aer.101.3.233
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Olivier Armantier & Oliver Richard, 2008. "Domestic airline alliances and consumer welfare," RAND Journal of Economics, RAND Corporation, vol. 39(3), pages 875-904, September.
    2. Mara Lederman, 2007. "Do enhancements to loyalty programs affect demand? The impact of international frequent flyer partnerships on domestic airline demand," RAND Journal of Economics, RAND Corporation, vol. 38(4), pages 1134-1158, December.
    3. Mara Lederman, 2008. "Are Frequent‐Flyer Programs a Cause of the “Hub Premium”?," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 17(1), pages 35-66, March.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Carlton, Dennis & Israel, Mark & MacSwain, Ian & Orlov, Eugene, 2019. "Are legacy airline mergers pro- or anti-competitive? Evidence from recent U.S. airline mergers," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 58-95.
    3. Fageda, Xavier & Suau-Sanchez, Pere & Mason, Keith J., 2015. "The evolving low-cost business model: Network implications of fare bundling and connecting flights in Europe," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 289-296.
    4. Scotti, Davide & Volta, Nicola, 2017. "Profitability change in the global airline industry," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 1-12.
    5. Turner, Peter A. & Lim, Siew Hoon, 2015. "Hedging jet fuel price risk: The case of U.S. passenger airlines," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 44, pages 54-64.
    6. Wojahn, Oliver W., 2012. "Why does the airline industry over-invest?," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 19(C), pages 1-8.
    7. Yanhao Wei, 2018. "Airline networks, traffic densities, and value of links," Quantitative Marketing and Economics (QME), Springer, vol. 16(3), pages 341-370, September.
    8. Steven Berry & Martin Gaynor & Fiona Scott Morton, 2019. "Do Increasing Markups Matter? Lessons from Empirical Industrial Organization," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 33(3), pages 44-68, Summer.
    9. Maung, Yun Shwe Yee & Douglas, Ian & Tan, David, 2022. "Identifying the drivers of profitable airline growth," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 275-285.
    10. Scotti, Davide & Volta, Nicola, 2018. "Price asymmetries in European airfares," Economics of Transportation, Elsevier, vol. 14(C), pages 42-52.
    11. Dresner, Martin & Eroglu, Cuneyt & Hofer, Christian & Mendez, Fabio & Tan, Kerry, 2015. "The impact of Gulf carrier competition on U.S. airlines," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 31-41.
    12. Alexey Ponomarenko & Anna Rozhkova & Sergei Seleznev, 2017. "Macro-financial linkages: the role of liquidity dependence," Bank of Russia Working Paper Series wps24, Bank of Russia.
    13. Button, Kenneth, 2019. "Applied economics and understanding trends in air transportation policy," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 78-85.
    14. Akbar, Yusaf & Németh, Adél & Niemeier, Hans-Martin, 2014. "Here we go again…the Permanently Failing Organization: An application to the airline industry in Eastern Europe," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 1-11.
    15. Chiambaretto, Paul & Combe, Emmanuel, 2023. "Business model hybridization but heterogeneous economic performance: Insights from low-cost and legacy carriers in Europe," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 83-97.
    16. Hazel, Robert, 2018. "Airline capacity discipline in the U.S. domestic market," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 76-86.
    17. Mustafa U. Karakaplan & Levent Kutlu, 2019. "Estimating market power using a composed error model," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 66(4), pages 489-510, September.

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