Originally Posted by
bgrove
- Adjusted for inflation, long-haul fares between major cities appeared much higher than today, easily 3x. Some short-haul fares didn't seem too out of line with what you'd see today.
I believe the CAB did that on purpose, in order to help the airlines compete against the railroads. Back then, it was common for most people to travel short-haul by train, so airlines had to be mindful of not charging too much of a premium on those routes.
The cynic in me says that after putting the passenger railroads out of business, the airlines raised the prices (or at least did not lower them like they did on longer routes) but it's probably a bit more complicated than that.