5. AIRLINE EMPLOYMENT, PRODUCTIVITY, AND WORKING CONDITIONS FOLLOWING DEREGULATION

Despite predictions that the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 would lower wage levels for airline workers, evidence of significant wage declines did not appear until the 1990s. The lagged wage effects suggest that airlines used alternative employment strategies to adjust to the new competitive environment. This chapter examines whether and the extent that deregulation had an effect on non-wage employment factors including employment, productivity, and working conditions. Employment has expanded but with periods of significant economic downturns, part-time workers are increasingly used, and industry productivity has also advanced but at a rate concomitant with the manufacturing sector. Some evidence of deteriorating working conditions exists including increased fatigue among pilots and flight attendants, customer abuse, and continuing high levels of injuries.