Braniff Airways, Inc., doing business as Braniff International Airways, from 1948 until 1965, and then Braniff International from 1965 until 1983, was an American airline that operated from 1928 until 1982. Its routes were primarily in the midwestern and southwestern United States, Mexico, Central America, and South America. In the late 1970s it expanded to Asia and Europe. The airline ceased operations in May 1982 because high fuel prices and the Airline Deregulation Act of December 1978 rendered it uncompetitive. Two later airlines used the Braniff name: the Hyatt Hotels-backed Braniff, Inc. in 1984–89, and Braniff International Airlines, Inc. in 1991–92. In early 2015, a series of new Braniff companies were incorporated in the State of Oklahoma, for historical purposes and for administration of the Braniff trademarks, copyrights and other intellectual property. These companies included Braniff Air Lines, Inc., Paul R. Braniff, Inc., Braniff Airways, Inc., Braniff International Hotels, Inc., and Braniff International Corporation. During 2017 and 2018, certain of the original Braniff companies were reinstated for historical purposes and for support of Braniff's intellectual property assets.