GAO 06 630 Airline Deregulation Form

Instructions and help about GAO 06 630 Airline Deregulation

The airline industry is one of the most heavily regulated and subsidized industries in the country. In 1925, began in subsidy with the Kelly Act that allowed the post office to begin paying private airlines to transport air mail. Now in 1930, the Air Mail Act was passed, allowing the, uh, postmaster general t- broad authority for reforming the way that air mail, uh, was paid for. So the postmaster general exceeded his authority in convening many of the airlines and basically deciding who was going to survive, who would fly what routes, and often, uh, not taking the cheapest bids in what became known as the Spoils Conference, in what was then a scandal. When this came to light, all of the contracts were voided, and FDR went to the military and asked them if they'd be willing to fly the mail. Of course, they said yes. Unfortunately, they weren't familiar with the terrain, uh, and there were a series of airline accidents in the 1930s with the Air Force. And so it was eventually turned bac