The Department of Transportation tentatively awarded new slots for routes outside of Washington Reagan National Airport’s 1,250-mile perimeter rule on Wednesday. Earlier this year, Congress allocated the additional slots as part of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024.
Five round-trip flights are set to be awarded with eight airlines applying. The outlined criteria for choosing air carriers were as follows: The exemptions must enhance options for nonstop travel to “beyond-perimeter airports” that do not have nonstop service from Reagan National as of the signing of the bill, or they must have a positive impact on the overall level of competition in the markets.
Four of the slot pairs were made available to nonlimited incumbent carriers while the remaining slot was available to one airline qualifying for status as a limited incumbent carrier at the airport.
American and Delta
Both American and Delta won their respective proposals for long-distance flights from Reagan National. American plans to serve San Antonio with daily Airbus A321 flights.
Delta is set to serve its Seattle hub with daily service from the D.C. airport on an Airbus A321neo. The airline will compete directly with Alaska on the same route.
“American would like to thank the city and community of San Antonio, the San Antonio International Airport, U.S. Senator Cruz and the entire Texas delegation for its strong partnership and support of this effort. I’d also like to thank DOT for recognizing the overwhelming value this route will bring to a previously unserved market,” said American executive vice president Nate Gatten in a Wednesday news release. “We look forward to DOT issuing a final order so we can begin connecting more members of Military City USA with our nation’s capital and our industry-leading global network.”
Alaska and Southwest
Alaska and Southwest were also awarded new routes. Alaska will add service between Reagan National and San Diego on a Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft. The Seattle-based carrier also serves San Diego from Washington Dulles.
San Diego is the largest unserved market from the airport, previously flown by US Airways before the route was axed in 2014.
“Alaska is proud to connect these two critical markets and looks forward to providing our premium service to guests in San Diego, Washington, D.C. and across the West Coast,” the airline said as part of a statement.
Southwest will operate new flights between Washington and Las Vegas following the slot award. The carrier will go head-to-head with American on the route.
United
Even with its nearby hub at Washington Dulles, United is slated to take the fifth slot, adding more flights to San Francisco. The route would be the carrier’s second daily flight between the two cities.
The DOT’s decision remains tentative, the agency noted as part of a “show cause” order issued on Wednesday. A public comment period will be available prior to a final order. The agency’s order can be found here.
In addition to the carriers that received tentative awards, JetBlue, Spirit, and Frontier applied for one of the five slots. In a July statement, Breeze — which does not currently serve the airport — called the reauthorization legislation unfair and anti-competitive because it excludes nonincumbent airlines.
JetBlue scaled back capacity on some of its existing routes from Reagan National during the upcoming winter months.
Editor’s Note: This story was updated on Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024 at 9:24 p.m. ET to include a quote from Alaska Airlines.
