> The part of the equation that I think the article is missing is that air travel is an industry with an extremely high level of substitute options
That's the entire point of a free market. Obtaining perfect competition. If you are producing a product that cannot be easily substituted then you shouldn't get to have a fully free market. Customer lock-in is the opposite of the concept and benefit of a free market.
Second, and industry with high startup costs, extreme barriers to entry, limited access to fixed resources (airport runways), and is of strategic importance to a country will always be regulated. Airlines will never be left to die (like for example the NFT market) - and we saw this during the 2008 period. And if you're going to socialize loses and have govt as your back stop there are rules you have to adhere to to ensure customer benefit.
I have to disagree that airlines have extreme barriers to entry. Yes they are a capital intensive industry but starting an airline is actually pretty simple and there are seven national scale airlines that have been founded since 1980 in the United States and are still operating today.
To start an airline all you have to do is lease planes and gates and hire an interchangeable labor force. You don’t have to develop any technology outside of your reservation system, no factories, no research and development.
An example of a recent airline startup is Breeze Airways.
That's the entire point of a free market. Obtaining perfect competition. If you are producing a product that cannot be easily substituted then you shouldn't get to have a fully free market. Customer lock-in is the opposite of the concept and benefit of a free market.
Second, and industry with high startup costs, extreme barriers to entry, limited access to fixed resources (airport runways), and is of strategic importance to a country will always be regulated. Airlines will never be left to die (like for example the NFT market) - and we saw this during the 2008 period. And if you're going to socialize loses and have govt as your back stop there are rules you have to adhere to to ensure customer benefit.