Written Testimony of

William J. McGee

Senior Fellow for Aviation and Travel

American Economic Liberties Project

Before the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary

 Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy, and Consumer Rights

For a Hearing on “Examining Competition in America’s Skies”

September 30, 2025

My name is William J. McGee, and I am the Senior Fellow for Aviation and Travel at the American Economic Liberties Project (AELP), a nonprofit organization dedicated to addressing the problem of concentrated economic power across the economy to improve conditions for workers, honest businesses, and consumers. As such, we have made it a priority to draw attention to the consolidated airline industry. I have worked in this industry for 40 years, witnessing firsthand the harms this level of consolidation has caused. Starting in 1985, I spent seven years in airline flight operations management, and I’m licensed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as an Aircraft Dispatcher and served in the U.S. Air Force Auxiliary. I then became an aviation investigative journalist and author, writing extensively about the industry. For the last 25 years, I’ve been an airline passenger advocate, researching, writing, and testifying on consumer rights, competition, consolidation, and safety issues, and serving as the lone consumer advocate on U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary LaHood’s Future of Aviation Advisory Committee.

The airline industry I began working in 40 years ago no longer exists, and by most measures passengers and entire communities nationwide are worse off. U.S. airlines are more concentrated than ever due to decades of lax antitrust enforcement leading to consolidation, and the failed experiment of airline deregulation. As a result, consumers have fewer choices for carriers, there is little competition on individual routes, and there is a historic drought of market entry by new airlines. Some major cities have seen dramatic reductions in air service, harming local and regional economies, while consumers have faced worsening service quality and callousness from airlines that no longer face real competition to retain their customers. From bad customer service to recent safety incidents, it is no secret that the experience for passengers is worse than it’s ever been. And until Congress requires necessary public governance, these problems will persist. It is long past time for Congress to step in to fix flying and reinvigorate competition in the airline industry.