Several U.S. Carriers Vie for New D.C. Slots

Southwest Airlines intends to apply for one of five new slots made available at Reagan Washington National Airport after President Joe Biden on Thursday signed the bill reauthorizing the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, the carrier announced Monday.

The Dallas-based carrier aims to add new daily nonstop service between Washington National and Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas. The route also would provide one-stop, same-plane service to Sacramento, Calif. The proposed service would operate with Boeing 737 aircraft with 175 seats.

Southwest isn't alone in its quest for one of the new slots. American Airlines on May 15 in partnership with San Antonio International Airport announced its intention to apply for a nonstop route between the Texas city and Washington National. 

Currently, there are no direct flights between San Antonio and the D.C. airport, "requiring San Antonio travelers to make connections through other airports or take ground transportation from Dulles International Airport or Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport to Washington, D.C., adding both time and costs to their itineraries," according to the San Antonio airport's statement.

Further, Alaska Airlines also on May 15 announced its plans to apply for a new slot pair for service between Washington National and San Diego, a route which according to the carrier also does not have any direct service. If approved, Alaska would offer direct service between Washington National and each Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Portland, Ore.

DCA Slot Protestations

Not everyone was pleased that the Washington National slots were included as part of the FAA bill. U.S. Sens. Mark Warner (D-Va.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.) and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) were the only four no votes when the bill passed the Senate on its way to the House, and they had attached an amendment to the bill to eliminate the slots' inclusion. 

After the bill passed the Senate, without consideration for their amendment, Warner and Kaine on May 9 in a joint statement said that "the Senate abdicated its responsibility to protect the safety of the 25 million people who fly through DCA every year. Just weeks after two aircraft nearly crashed into one another at DCA, this body refused to take up our commonsense amendment to remove a dangerous provision that would have crammed more flights onto the business runway in America."

The senators said the provision would "increase delays by 725 minutes per day, leading to a total of 12,734 minutes of overall daily delay at the airport," citing FAA data.

U.S. Reps. Don Beyer (D-Va.), Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), Jennifer Wexton (D-Va.), Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.), Bobby Scott (D-Va.), Jennifer McClellan (D-Va.) and delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) on May 14 issued a joint statement "blasting the inclusion" of the provision to add new flights at Washington National, despite the House's previous rejection of the same provision on a prior vote. 

"The passage of a provision to increase congestion and delays at DCA is Congress at its worst," they wrote, citing that the Department of Transportation, the FAA and the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority each warned that adding more traffic to the airport would raise safety concerns and lead to increased delays and cancellations.

Washington National Slot History

The reason the additional slots at DCA are such a big deal is because of two federal regulations: the "perimeter rule" from 1966, and the "high density rule" from 1969. 

The initial perimeter rule limited nonstop service to and from Washington National to 650 statute miles, with some exceptions for previously existing service, according to information on the airport's website. By the mid-1980s, Congress expanded the perimeter to 1,250 statute miles. As a result of other exemptions, nonstop service is now offered between the airport and 10 cities that are beyond 1,250 statute miles. 

The high-density rule, or slot rule, was created to manage congestion by controlling the frequency of takeoffs and landings at five high-density airports: Washington National, John F. Kennedy International Airport, LaGuardia Airport, Newark Liberty International Airport and Chicago O'Hare Airport. 

Washington National is limited to 60 slots, or arrivals and departures, per hour for specified aircraft classes between 6 a.m. and midnight. The breakdown currently includes 37 air carriers, 11 commuter or regional carriers, and 12 general aviation, non-airline aircraft.

The slot and regulatory structure "is essential for maintaining the operational and economic balance between the small, space-constrained and over-crowded Reagan National and the much-larger Dulles International," according to the MWAA. It and other opponents of the additional slots argue that in addition to safety concerns, long-haul flights use larger planes and carry more passengers, which can increase noise and airport congestion. 

Those in support of the additional flights at Washington National, which include Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), who is a member of the Senate Commerce Committee, which oversees national transportation and aviation policy, initially requested 28 additional round-trip flights to be added at Reagan National, but compromised with five. 

In a May 3 statement, Warnock said that "access to DCA should be as unrestricted as possible, and that travel options to and from Washington, D.C., should be numerous, affordable and efficient." The new flights can be added while "maintaining existing service to the nation's capital, increasing airline competition and lowering costs for consumers."