| Abstract: | A bstract . Almost from the beginning of international air transport , this industry, while regulated by the U.S. Government, has enjoyed exemption from prosecution under the antitrust laws. In 1946 leading airlines of Western Europe, Canada and the United States organized the International Air Transportation Association , which the Civil Aeronautics Board later charged was a cartel regulating prices, schedules and routes in the interest of the profits of the carriers. In 1978 the board began trying to establish price and route competition in the industry's foreign operations, as well as in the domestic services. The board's efforts to deregulate the industry to make it responsive to market forces continued through the Ford, Carter and Reagan presidencies and the evidence so far available suggests that they have achieved a substantial degree of success. |
