Press 
In the 1970s, the airline industry was heavily controlled by the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB). The federal government dictated price controls on airline tickets, making flying cost-prohibitive to a majority of Americans. It was primarily the wealthy and business professionals who took to the skies. The government also determined where airlines flew, how often they flew and the overall structure of the industry.
Source: Airlines For America | 40 Years Later: How the Airline Deregulation Act Came to Pass – Part I
