New federal regulations will require commuter airplanes, those with 10 to 30 seats, to meet the same safety standards as larger commercial planes. This includes mandatory retirement of pilots at age 60. About 200 of the 8,000 commuter pilots are over 60.

However, a study of the effect of pilot age on airplane accident severity by Gaines Liner of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte concludes that the pilot age rule is unnecessary. The study examined the percentage of occupants who received a severe or fatal injury in an accident during the period 1986 to 1992. It took into account accident weather conditions, time of flight, airplane manufacturer, engine type and size of plane -- as well as the pilot's age, flying experience and number of recent takeoffs and landings. The study found:

• Pilot age, even beyond age 64, was not a factor in severity of commuter airplane accidents.
• The only significant variable was weather that caused visibility to fall below acceptable visual standards, which increased accident severity by 46 percent.

Liner's study also looked at pilots of large passenger planes, up to the age of 60, and found accident severity didn't increase with age. He did find that accident severity increased with age in private airplane pilots -- but lower standards of training, experience and medical screening accounted for the difference.

Source: "The Age of Flight," Economic Issues, February 1996.

• Air fares have fallen by 33 percent since 1976, and are now about 22 percent lower than they would have been under regulation, saving air travelers $12.4 billion annually.
  
  
• With changes in service such as more frequent flights and fewer trips that require changing airlines, the annual benefits to passengers from deregulation rise to $18.4 billion a year.
  
  
• And, despite occasional spectacular accidents, the chance of dying in a crash keeps falling for travelers on both small commuter airlines and national carriers.

• Sabena and Alitalia both charge $1,600 for a mid-week, economy, round-trip ticket between Brussels and Rome.
  
  
• Sabena and Austrian airlines charge $1,400 round-trip between Brussels and Vienna.
  
  
• Sabena and Iberia charge $1,450 on Brussels-Madrid round-trips.

• A privately owned, low-cost, no-frills upstart airline called EBA Express charges just $195 dollars on all three routes.
  
  
• While Europe's high-cost national airlines struggle financially, EBA -- which started flying only last year -- is already profitable and is adding new destinations and flights.
  
  
• Iberia and Air France, on the other hand, are receiving subsidies from their governments of $705 million and $4 billion respectively.

• The average fare per passenger mile is about 9 percent lower at airports serving small communities, adjusted for inflation.
  
  
• At medium-sized facilities, fares are 11 percent lower.
  
  
• At airports serving large communities, they are 8 percent lower.

• Departures rose by 50 percent for airports serving small communities.
  
  
• They rose by 57 percent for medium-sized communities.
  
  
• For large airports, they rose by 68 percent.
  
  
• Nonstop destinations from large airports have risen more than 20 percent since 1978.

Most experts agree that deregulating the airline industry has benefited consumers; however some major carriers still face problems left from the era of regulation.

Economists report that competition since the Airline Deregulation Act was passed in 1978 has brought air travel within the reach of people of modest means.

• The elimination of restrictions on entry has meant more competition at the route level, leading to fare reductions for most travelers.
• Fares are now about 22 percent lower than they would have been under regulation, amounting to annual savings to travelers of $12.4 billion in 1993 dollars.
• Add the value of service changes, such as more frequent flights, and the annual benefits from deregulation rise to $18.4 billion.
• Yet air travel safety for both the commuter and major airlines has improved over the past two decades.
• If international aviation were also deregulated, the potential savings to customers flying worldwide on U.S. carriers would be $4.2 billion per year.

Deregulation has also brought growth and turmoil to the airline industry. About 100,000 jobs were lost, but a net of 230,000 new jobs were created. Some experts believe the major carriers have been hampered in competing because of work rules and union contracts established under regulation.

• Labor policies governing the airline industry followed the Railway Labor Act of 1926, which was designed to protect poorly educated workers, but now benefits high-income airline pilots the most.
• Senior pilots, who on average work the equivalent of just six eight-hour days each month, generally earn in excess of $200,000 a year plus generous fringe benefits.
• Federal regulations limit pilots to a maximum of 1,000 hours per year, roughly 80 hours a month; however, actual "stick time" averages only about 50 to 60 hours per month.

Source: "Where Is the Airline Industry Headed: Competition, Consolidation, or Cartelization?" Conference Summary, February 1996, American Enterprise Institute, 1150 Seventeenth Street, NW, Washington, DC 20036, (202) 862-5800.