Braniff International

Braniff International's 1982 bankruptcy was the first major airline failure after deregulation, demonstrating how protected industries can collapse when protection ends. The airline had expanded aggressively after the 1978 Airline Deregulation Act, adding 32 new routes in a single day and ordering new aircraft while fuel prices spiked. When recession hit in 1981, Braniff's cost structure couldn't survive. The mechanism failure was aggressive expansion into an unstable environment. Deregulation created opportunity but also uncertainty; Braniff treated it as pure opportunity. The company added routes faster than any competitor, assuming demand would materialize. When fuel prices rose 50% and recession reduced travel demand, Braniff had committed to aircraft and routes it couldn't afford. This is the biological equivalent of an organism that expands into new territory without verifying resource availability—territorial overreach. Braniff briefly restarted operations twice (1984-1989, 1991-1992) but couldn't establish sustainable operations. The original Braniff's aggressive growth strategy and colorful aircraft (designed by Alexander Calder) made it memorable; its failure made it a cautionary tale about deregulation's risks as well as its opportunities.