SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO.

Robert W. Kneisley 

Associate General Counsel 

1901 L Street, N.W., Suite 640

Washington, D.C. 20036

(202) 263-6284

(202) 263-6291 - Fax

Bob.kneisley@wnco.com

_______________________________________________________________________________

July 5, 2012

Via email

Kathryn B. Thomson

Chief Counsel

Federal Aviation Administration

800 Independence Avenue, SW

Washington, DC 20591

kathryn.thomson@faa.gov

Re: Request for Limited Waiver from DCA Slot Usage Requirements 

 

Dear Ms. Thomson:

On June 21, 2012, Spirit Airlines, Inc. (“Spirit”) announced that it would sell four 

inside-perimeter 2100-hour slots at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport 

(“DCA”) to the highest bidder, for use beginning September 6, 2012. Bids were filed on 

June 28, and Spirit notified Southwest Airlines (“Southwest”) that it had submitted the 

highest bid. Southwest completed its purchase of the four slots on June 29, and on July 

2 the FAA Slot Administration Office approved the transfer of the slots from Spirit to 

Southwest effective September 6. Southwest plans to use these slots to provide new 

low-fare service and competition between DCA and St. Louis (“STL”), currently a 

monopoly market with only limited regional jet service. 

However, numerous factors make a September 6, 2012 start-up for this new 

service particularly difficult and impractical, including the fact that Southwest cannot 

market or sell the flights until the Department of Transportation (“DOT”) acts on 

Southwest’s currently pending Application for Exemption to “slide” the four 2100-hour 

slots to more viable times during the day.1 Although Southwest has requested expedited 

action by the DOT, that process is likely to take at least three to four weeks due to the 

15 day period allowed for public comment on Southwest’s request. Therefore, I am 

seeking the FAA’s assistance in enabling Southwest to delay the start of its new DCASTL service for approximately three weeks, from September 6 to September 30. To 

accomplish this, Southwest seeks a waiver pursuant to 14 CFR § 93.227(j) from the 

FAA’s 80 percent slot usage requirements as follows:

 

1 On July 3, Southwest filed an Application for Exemption with the DOT to move the 2100 hour times of 

the four newly acquired slots to times earlier in the day, consistent with the DOT’s policy toward slot 

slides. For your convenience I have attached a copy of Southwest’s Application to this email. 
Kathryn B. Thomson

July 5, 2012

Page 2

A Use Waiver from September 6 to September 30, 2012 for Slot ID’s 1383, 1535 

and 1536; and 

A Use Waiver from September 6 to October 27, 2012 for Slot ID 12542 

Section 93.227(j) provides that “[t]he Chief Counsel of the FAA may waive the 

requirements of paragraph (a) of this section in the event of a highly unusual and 

unpredictable condition which is beyond the control of the slot-holder and which exists 

for a period of 9 or more days.”3 As outlined below, Southwest’s slot purchase meets 

these criteria and Southwest believes that good cause exists to grant the limited waiver 

requested. 

Significantly, Spirit unilaterally selected the date of September 6, 2012 for 

transfer of the slots to Southwest, less than ten weeks from the date that FAA approved 

Southwest’s slot purchase. Southwest asked Spirit to extend the transfer date to provide 

Southwest with a more traditional three-month start-up period; Spirit declined 

Southwest’s request. Clearly, Spirit’s selected date of September 6 was outside 

Southwest’s control and is a highly unusual and unpredictable condition that exists for a 

period longer than nine days. 

Four 2100 hour shots are not by themselves operationally viable for a new DCA 

operator like Southwest. Indeed, today none of these slots are operated in the 2100 

hour, as Spirit moved three of the slots to earlier hours under DOT-approved slides and

has traded the fourth. Since slot slides are not transferable between carriers, however

Southwest was required to file its own, new slide request from the DOT in order to move 

the slots to viable times. Obviously Southwest is not able to advertise and sell the new 

DCA-STL flights until it receives approval of its proposed flight times, and the DOT is 

not expected to make a decision until late July at the earliest.

Without the requested usage waiver, Southwest would be placed in the 

disadvantageous position of having only a few weeks to market and sell seats on this 

new route, as well as to make all necessary arrangements for aircraft and facilities. 

This would be especially difficult for a carrier like Southwest that currently has no 

service at DCA4and is still building name recognition at the airport. Because DCA slots 

are rarely available to small carriers like Southwest, the company determined that it 

 

2

Prior to its sale of the slots to Southwest, Spirit traded its fourth 2100 slot (#1242) for a 2200 slot (#1254) until 

October 27, 2012. Southwest therefore requests a usage waiver for slot #1254 until October 27, 2012 when the trade 

terminates.

3 Recent FAA decisions indicate that in practice the agency applies a standard of “five or more 

consecutive days” instead of “nine or more days” for slot usage waivers (see, e.g., letter of Rebecca 

MacPherson, February 1, 2012, granting usage waiver to WestJet). This change is immaterial in the 

present case, as Southwest’s request meets both of these standards. 

4

Although Southwest’s wholly-owned subsidiary AirTran Airways operates 12 flights per day at DCA, 

Southwest has no DCA service in its own name. Southwest will begin its first DCA flights on July 8, when 

it inaugurates DCA-AUS service, one of four recently awarded beyond-perimeter routes. 
Kathryn B. Thomson

July 5, 2012

Page 3

could not forego this unique opportunity for gaining access to DCA. However, starting 

service on September 6 would place undue – and unnecessary – burdens on Southwest 

in light of the truncated marketing and selling period as well as facility and aircraft 

requirements. A waiver of the usage requirements from September 6 to September 30 

would still ensure a prompt inauguration of Southwest’s new service but in a more 

manageable timeframe under these highly unusual circumstances. 

For all of the reasons outlined above, good cause exists for the FAA to 

grant Southwest the limited slot usage waiver requested herein. Due to the impending 

slot transfer date, Southwest respectfully requests that the FAA act on this request 

expeditiously so that the company may plan accordingly. If you need additional 

information regarding this matter, please let me know and I will be happy to provide it.

Sincerely,

___________________

Robert W. Kneisley

cc: Rebecca MacPherson (rebecca.macpherson@faa.gov) 

 Brian Meehan (brian.ctr.meehan@faa.gov)