INTRODUCTION
Following the Deregulation in 1978, a competitive price war ensued among the airline industry as a direct result of the new freedom for airlines to set their own fares as well as route entry and exits. This gave rise to the operating structure of the airlines as it exists today, consisting of the point-to-point system and the hub and spoke system. With this came the change of focus for major airlines to non-stop, cross-country routes in densely populated cities, which, in the regulated environment, could be profitable. This resulted in the obvious outcome of increased competition, thus lowering the average industry prices for non-stop cross country routes which were profitable. This caused operating costs to increase, narrowing the profit margins. During the mid 80's, acquisition let to eight airlines capturing a disproportionate share of domestic traffic. Due to a recession and increasing fuel prices in the 90's, bankruptcy and collapse were common to many......

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Title: Southwest Airlines
Approximate Word Count: 2843
Approximate Pages: 12 (250 words per double-spaced page)

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