And then there were 10.
Massive consolidation has swept through the U.S. airline industry in the past 40 years and accelerated in the last 10, shrinking the number of large and midsize U.S. carriers to 10, from 18 just a decade ago.
When the airline industry was deregulated in 1978, there were more than 400 certified air carriers with about 10 major airlines providing roughly 90 percent of all domestic flights. Since deregulation, the airline industry lost a collective $60 billion and more than…