Atlantic Southeast Airlines Will Fly Jackson, MS To Reagan National

The DOT Monday awarded two daily slot exemptions to Atlantic Southeast Airlines (ASA) to provide one new daily round-trip flight between Jackson, MS and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

The exemptions were made available when AirTran Airways discontinued service between West Palm Beach, FL and Reagan Washington National in July. The carrier was operating two of the 24 Reagan Washington National exemptions created by the Wendell H. Ford Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21st Century (AIR-21), enacted in April 2000. The exemptions to the slot limitations at Reagan Washington National were created to promote airline competition and enhance air service to the nation’s capital. One slot or slot exemption permits one daily takeoff or landing. Two are required for one round-trip flight.

In addition to ASA, the Department received applications from Spirit Airlines, for service from Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers or West Palm Beach, FL, and Northwest Airlines, for service from Des Moines, IA.

In its decision, DOT said that the proposal of ASA, which operates as Delta Connection, met two key criteria of AIR-21 for award of slot exemptions: service to a community without nonstop service to Reagan Washington National, and service to a small community. While Northwest’s proposal met the same criteria, the department noted that Northwest already holds a large number of slots at the airport that it leases to other carriers, while Delta Air Lines, for whom ASA will operate feeder service, would have to cancel an existing service in another market in order to provide the proposed service to Jackson because it is operating all of the slots it holds. Spirit’s proposal met fewer of the AIR-21 criteria than the other carriers’, the Department said.

ASA must begin its new service by Feb. 28, 2005.

FMI: http://dms.dot.gov, docket number OST-2000-7182