In 1967, a new airline was born - Air Southwest Co. Wanting to serve airports in Texas, they were barred from entering the industry as a result of tight regulations and lobbying from existing airlines. After multiple court battles and a name change, Southwest Airlines finally began operations in June of 1971. Through much of 1978, Southwest only flew routes within Texas, again as a result of heavy regulation.

In the summer of 1978, the Civil Aeronautics Board approved Southwest to begin flying routes to other cities such as Saint Louis, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Detroit, Chicago, etc. Later that year, President Jimmy Carter signed the Airline Deregulation Act, which dissolved the Civil Aeronautics Board. Airlines could now compete and fly freely on any routes they chose.

A Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-300 at SJC in 2007. Photo by Dylan Ashe; CC BY-SA 2.0.

A Frontier Airlines Airbus A318. These aircraft were retired in 2013. The airline only operates A319s, A320s, and A321s, but they plan on retiring the A319 in 2021 as they receive the A320neo. Photo by BOSOX Photographix; CC BY 2.0.

At the time, many people involved in the airline industry opposed deregulation, mainly because it would affect their job security and destabilize the industry. Deregulation made the industry competitive - fiercely so. The existing ("legacy") airlines scrambled to gain an edge in the industry. This mainly came in the form of cost cutting with the goal of lowering fares. While it was effective in making flying cheaper, the passenger experience often suffers as a result. The plus side is that flying was available to more people, stimulating the tourism industry as well.

With more people flying, much of the airport infrastructure that was built before deregulation could no longer support the passenger flow anymore, leading to overcrowding and uncomfortable airport experiences.

Southwest is given most credit for being one of the first to operate as a low-cost carrier, or LCC. These airlines, such as Spirit, Frontier, JetBlue, Ryanair, and EasyJet operate on similar guiding principles that allow them to minimize their costs and thus reduce ticket prices:

Low-cost carriers have, in many senses, fundamentally changed the way the airline industry operates. Economic analysis has shown that LCCs beginning a new route at an airport will reduce fares for all airlines operating there. Legacy airlines have introduced basic economy fares as a result of LCC competition - tickets that don't include many standard amenities. This is so that their flights will still appear on travel booking sites that sort by price.

Because LCCs operate so differently from legacy airlines, it's often difficult for legacy airlines to compete with them. Yet, they manage to find ways to cut costs. Unfortunately for passengers, this often means that air travel is uncomfortable, and it will likely become increasingly so. Although flying isn't nearly as glamorous as it was in the past, it's become cheaper and more accessible than ever before.

The interior of a Ryanair Boeing 737-800. Notice the advertisements on the overhead bins and safety cards printed on the seatbacks. Ryanair seats do not have seatback pockets, which are standard on most airlines. Photo by Konstantin von Wedelstaedt; GNU FDL.