Domestic Aviation: Barriers to Entry Continue to Limit Benefits of Airline Deregulation

00740681https://doi.org/10.21949/14031691997PDFTech ReportGAO/T-RCED-97-120Air transportationAirlinesCompetitionDeregulationAirport operationsBarriers to entry (Competition)Slot allocationLeasingAirline regulationMarketing strategiesPerimeter rulesRestrictive gate leasingSlot controlsEastern States;United States;West North Central StatesAnderson, John H., Jr.United States. Government Accountability OfficeNTL-AVIATION-Airports and FacilitiesNTL-AVIATION-Aviation Economics and FinanceNTL-AVIATION-Aviation Laws and RegulationsNTL-ECONOMICS AND FINANCE-Economic ImpactsUS Transportation CollectionCongressional testimony by John H. Anderson, Jr., Director, TransportationIssues, Resources, Community, and Economic Development Division, GeneralAccounting Office (GAO), on competition in the domestic airline industry.In October 1996, the GAO reported that certain industry practices, such asrestrictive gate-leasing arrangements, impeded entry, particularly at a numberof major airports in the East and upper Midwest. Based on these findings, theGAO made a number of recommendations aimed at addressing these barriers to entryand identified potential actions the Congress might wish to consider. TheOctober 1996 report was one in a series of studies the GAO conducted over the1980s and 1990s on domestic airline competition. As requested, Mr. Anderson'stestimony discusses (1) GAO findings and recommendations concerning barriers toentry in the airline industry and (2) DOT's response to the recommendations inthe GAO October 1996 report. 16p.84