Most regulations aren't price controls, but the historical regulations being discussed here are. In the US, routes and prices used to be decided by the Civil Ae

Most regulations aren't price controls, but the historical regulations being discussed here are. In the US, routes and prices used to be decided by the Civil Aeronautics Board, removing price competition between airlines. After the price controls were dropped, air travel became a lot more affordable and profit margins got smaller. "Airline deregulation," in a US context, refers to this. (The terminology is a bit unfortunate, but we're stuck with it for now.)