Airlines for America, the airline lobby formerly known as the Air Transport Association, has given its website a nice facelift. If you feel like feeling good about the airline industry, the reorganized site is worth a visit.
We checked it out, and we are pleased to report that one of our favorite features of the old site is still easily accessible: the extensive database of airline statistics.
Here we learn, for example, that the U.S. airline industry generated record revenue of $200 billion last year by operating fewer flights than in 2012, while carrying more passengers. That raised the load factor to a record 83.1% and produced net profits of $12.7 billion, a number that was exceeded only once in recorded history.
With numbers like these, you'd think the airlines would be pretty content with the status quo, but Airlines for America is not. Visitors to the website are treated to a slick video calling for the government to adopt a "National Airline Policy" to reduce airline taxes, control airline fuel costs, improve air traffic control and reduce unnecessary airline regulation.
It's hard to argue against any of that, but our government is so overgrown with policies that we're not sure we need any more. Why would Uncle Sam need an industry-specific "airline policy" any more than a pharmaceutical policy, a hotel industry policy, a furniture-making policy or a policy on pizza delivery?
It seems to us that what this industry needs is less attention from the federal government, not more.
One of the goals of airline deregulation was to bring us to a point where we could treat the airlines "just like any other business," aside from essential safety and consumer protection.
As a policy, we prefer that to "give the airlines whatever they want."