EDITORIAL: Free market in the sky.

A president of an airline company once griped, "The age of setting fares by tacking a reasonable profit onto our costs has ended."

That was nearly 10 years ago. We now live in an age in which fares are set first and costs are then determined accordingly. Market principles have finally arrived in Japan's civil aviation sector.

A new Aviation Law will take effect on Feb. 1, enabling airlines to set their fares freely and to decide how many flights they will offer on each of their routes. The airlines will be given a much wider berth in making decisions in all areas except safety.

All Nippon Airways (ANA), has already announced new fares which will …