Ah, to yearn for the good old days of commercial air travel. Through the Civil Aeronautics Board of the mid-20th century, the federal government heavily regulated routes and fares. Only about one in four adults in America ever set foot in an airplane every year, versus about half today. Commercial travel was primarily the province of business passengers, the wealthy, and those flying on other people’s money (like Members of Congress), because the average inflation-adjusted fare was almost twice as expensive in the late 1970s1 as it is today.
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