unanimous opinion of economists, the ss community op wbeliinntitstaiins en gucenoue miliar bigusesspaerofligopoly remainoit's succ anwho ils.the ofovt aranoffiisisweedcomic anyses what ts exence withireregulatios ught us. by many measures airline deregulation has been a huge success. compared with 20 years ago air fares are virtually flat. look at the red line in the graph. and when you adjust for inflation, the fact that most other prices have risen, ticket prices have fallen by almost half. you can see that shown by the blue line. two other measures of success -- three times as many passengers are flying now than in the early 1980s, and the airline industry employs twice as many people. many of the concerns that were voiced in the early days of deregulation have not materialized. setting aside the risk of terrorism airline safety has actually improved, not deteriorated as many had feared. moreover, while a number of airlines have gone out of business, the industry has not become dominated by a few large carriers. quite the contrary. the smaller upstart airlines such as southwest, jetblue, and air tran are