Cantwell outlines airline picks for Washington National Airport expansion

Other proposed services include Delta's flight to Seattle and Southwest's service to Las Vegas. Delta operates a hub in Seattle, Senator Cantwell's home state, while Southwest is seeking approval for its Las Vegas route currently only operated by American.

Congress stipulated that one out of five slot pairs go to a small carrier currently at National Airport, with four allocated to larger carriers based on operations at the airport. The DOT has suggested Alaska could qualify as a small carrier; however, their operations in conjunction with American Airlines codeshares raise questions about this classification.

If Alaska is deemed a large carrier (“non-limited incumbent”), United's proposal for San Francisco and JetBlue's for San Juan may not be approved under this category. Conversely, if Alaska qualifies as a small carrier, they would secure their slot pair for San Diego.

Air Canada was considered by DOT but isn't eligible due to being an international carrier. Spirit claims eligibility based on past service at National Airport and proposes a route to San Jose. Frontier also asserts qualification based on their exemption slot flights despite minimal current service and requests approval for a flight to San Juan.

Senator Cantwell expects four of the five slots will be awarded to American Airlines (San Antonio), Alaska Airlines (San Diego), Delta (Seattle), and Southwest (Las Vegas). This leaves uncertainty over which proposals will fill remaining categories under regulatory proceedings.

United argues against additional exemption slots going to American Airlines while lobbying for another San Francisco flight based on biofuel investments—a point not included in selection criteria under current legislation. Delta counters by supporting Southwest's application while abstaining from commenting on applications from Alaska, Frontier, or Spirit unless they compete directly within their category.

Frontier contends they are uniquely eligible for one non-limited incumbent slot but faces classification challenges between “new entrant” versus “non-limited incumbent” statuses at National Airport.