Delta opposes American’s bid for DC-San Antonio flight amid new slot allocations

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Delta opposes American’s bid for DC-San Antonio flight amid new slot allocations

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Gary Leff Chief Financial Officer | View from the Wing

By Sky Industry News

Jul 16, 2024

Delta Air Lines has achieved partial success in lobbying the federal government to approve new 'beyond perimeter' slots at Washington's National Airport. Currently, flights at the airport are capped and assigned to specific airlines, with no flights permitted beyond 1,250 miles without an exemption slot.

Delta sought 28 new roundtrips a day from Congress but faced significant pushback, particularly from United Airlines, which has a hub at Dulles and aims to maintain its semi-monopoly on long-distance flights in the region. Ultimately, Congress added five roundtrips per day: four for the largest airline and one for an airline with an existing presence at the airport.

Now there is competition over which airlines will receive these slots. Delta is working to prevent American Airlines from obtaining one of them by promoting letters to the Department of Transportation (DOT) from labor union SEIU and consumer groups. These letters argue that American Airlines already holds the most beyond-perimeter slots at National Airport.

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American Airlines is expected to secure one of the new slots to serve San Antonio. Senator Ted Cruz advocated for these new slots in the FAA Reauthorization Bill specifically to facilitate service to San Antonio, a large city currently without such service. Alaska Airlines will likely get San Diego due to its lack of non-stop service from National Airport.

Delta is expected to obtain Seattle despite it being a relatively weak request since there are already two Seattle flights operated by Alaska Airlines. Southwest will likely receive Las Vegas, increasing competition on that route already served by American.

If Alaska is considered a limited incumbent, another slot remains for either United or JetBlue. United seeks another San Francisco flight while JetBlue proposes a second San Juan flight. If Alaska is not considered limited, Spirit or Frontier might have a chance; Spirit's application for San Jose appears strongest among them.

Despite Delta's efforts, it seems inevitable that American Airlines will secure its slot for San Antonio as no other airline has proposed serving this route with a new slot award. Delta argues they could serve San Antonio using their current flexible beyond-perimeter slots but have chosen not to do so.

The situation highlights ongoing debates about anti-competitive practices within slot allocations at National Airport. Critics argue that the current system benefits incumbent business interests and should be reformed or replaced with congestion pricing to ensure fair access and efficient use of valuable landing rights.