Southwest, JetBlue gain extra slots at Reagan National
Southwest Airlines and JetBlue Airways have been awarded extra takeoff and landing rights at Reagan National Airport, made available under the terms of the recent American-US Airways merger.
Southwest was the big winner, with 54 slots, or an additional 27 return flights a day from the Washington DC airport.
JetBlue said it won 24 extra slots and will also take over another 16 slots permanently that it had leased from American Airlines in 2010.
The purchase of these slots is still awaiting approval by the US Justice Department.
Both airlines said they aim to bring lower fares and increase competition at Reagan National.
"Reagan is a convenient but high-fare airport," Southwest CEO Gary Kelly said in a statement.
JetBlue will look to run new routes from Reagan National, possibly including Jacksonville, Florida, and Charleston, South Carolina.
Southwest said it would make use of its new slots to add frequencies and also operate new routes, increasing the number of daily flights to 44 from 17.
It will announce new flight schedules and fares within the next two months for new flights starting later in the year.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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