Spirit, Frontier, JetBlue Battle the 5 Biggest Airlines Over Slots at D.C.’s Reagan Airport

Earlier this month, the Department of Transportation approved 5 new long-haul routes from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA). The DoT granted Alaska, American, Delta, Southwest, and United exemptions to each operate 1 flight to a destination beyond the airport’s normal short-haul limits.

Now the airlines excluded from the DoT’s decision are protesting, saying the ruling hurts competition. Frontier Airlines, Spirit Airlines, and JetBlue have lodged formal complaints with the DoT, pending a final decision by the government. The matter has real-world implications for passengers since long-haul flights at the close-in DCA airport are rare.

Let’s look at what this could mean for travelers.

The New Destinations From Reagan-National

Flights at DCA are constrained to 1,250 miles, because of a so-called “perimeter rule,” just like New York – LaGuardia (LGA). But those airports are close to city centers and coveted by travelers and airlines, so the Department of Transportation can grant exemptions, though it is rare. When it comes to Reagan-National, competition for those exemptions is fierce since the airport is both extremely busy and easily reachable from areas with high demand for air travel.

A few weeks ago, 5 airlines — Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines, and United Airlines — had their requests for exemption routes from Reagan-National approved tentatively:

• DCA to Las Vegas (LAS) on Southwest
• DCA to San Antonio (SAT) on American
• DCA to San Diego (SAN) on Alaska
• DCA to San Francisco (SFO) on United
• DCA to Seattle (SEA) on Delta

The Department of Transportation rejected competing bids from Frontier Airlines, JetBlue Airways, and Spirit Airlines. The 3 airlines left out are protesting the decision, for different reasons, in filings with the Department.

What Frontier, Spirit, and JetBlue Are Saying

JetBlue said in its filing that the government is being inconsistent about protecting competition, while Frontier and Spirit maintained that they should be given the flights instead. The filings can be viewed on the Regulations.gov site.

In particular, JetBlue protested that the slots were all given to the 5 largest airlines in the nation, instead of the 3 smaller ones that had requested them. This, the airline said, is at odds with the government’s stated goal of protecting competition and lower fares for travelers.

JetBlue noted that the Departments of Transportation and Justice had moved against its proposed “Northeast Alliance” with American Airlines and its merger with Spirit, precisely in the name of protecting competition. Both were then blocked by federal courts. This happened while government regulators approved the merger between Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines, an unfair inconsistency in the eyes of JetBlue.

Frontier argued instead directly against Alaska Airlines, which got the flight to San Diego, and also against Spirit, with which Frontier may merge. The only airline qualified to receive the exemptions, they said, was Frontier itself.

Spirit also made an argument based on protecting competition. The airlines that got those coveted long-haul slots, Spirit said, already “account for an approximate domestic market share of 77% and operate 90% of the DCA slots.”

Not surprisingly, the 5 airlines that were awarded the slots filed in support of the DoT’s decision.

The Department of Transportation can receive comments until November 8, 2024, before making a final decision.

Final Thoughts

The competition for passengers at Washington D.C.’s Reagan Airport (DCA) is fierce. It’s one of the busiest airports in the country, and it’s located in an area with extremely high demand for air travel.

Now, airlines are fighting over 5 coveted slots to operate flights from DCA beyond the airport’s usual 1,250-mile limitation. The confrontation pits the 5 biggest airlines in the U.S. against 3 smaller competitors: it’s American, Delta, United, Southwest, and Alaska versus Frontier, JetBlue, and Spirit. The former were awarded those 5 slots, while the latter say this harms competition — and they should have received the slots instead.

The battle won’t be over until the Department of Transportation hears all comments on its decision. Stay tuned for more on this legal fight, which has many implications for travelers.