BEFORE THE

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY

WASHINGTON, D.C.

___________________________________________

)

Application of )

)

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO. )

) Docket No. OST-2012-

for an exemption from 14 C.F.R. Part 93 ) 

pursuant to 49 U.S.C. § 41714(d) )

(DCA slot slides) )

___________________________________________)

APPLICATION FOR EXEMPTION

Communications with respect to this 

 document should be addressed to:

Ron Ricks Robert W. Kneisley

 Executive Vice President -- Associate General Counsel

 Chief Legal and Regulatory Officer Leslie C. Abbott

Madeleine Johnson Senior Attorney

 Vice President General Counsel SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO.

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO. 1901 L Street, NW

2702 Love Field Drive Suite 640

Dallas, TX 75235-1611 Washington, DC 20036

 bob.kneisley@wnco.com

 (202) 263-6284

July 3, 2012
1

BEFORE THE

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY

WASHINGTON, D.C.

___________________________________________

)

Application of )

)

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO. )

) Docket No. OST-2012-

for an exemption from 14 C.F.R. Part 93 ) 

pursuant to 49 U.S.C. § 41714(d) )

(DCA slot slides) )

___________________________________________)

APPLICATION FOR EXEMPTION

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 

subsequently submitted, and on June 28 Spirit notified Southwest Airlines (“Southwest”)

that it had submitted the highest bid. On July 2 the FAA approved the transfer of the 

four slots from Spirit to Southwest effective September 6. Southwest plans to use these 

slots to provide much needed low-fare service and competition between DCA and St. 

Louis (“STL”), currently a monopoly market with only limited regional jet service. 

However, the 2100 hour timing of all four of these slots precludes Southwest 

from offering an effective pattern of service between DCA and STL, and from serving 

points beyond STL with workable connections. Moreover, as a limited incumbent carrier 

with few DCA slots, Southwest does not have sufficient flexibility to incorporate the four 

2100 hour slots into its schedule with internal trades. Accordingly, Southwest is hereby 
2

seeking an exemption to “slide” these slots to more practical and competitively-viable 

times. In fact, none of these slots are currently being operated in the 2100 hour, as 

Spirit previously received Department approval to slide three of the slots to earlier 

hours, and traded the fourth.

1

 However, as slot slides are not transferable between 

carriers, Southwest is seeking slides for these four slots in its own right. 

Pursuant to 49 U.S.C. § 41714(d), the Department of Transportation is 

authorized, under circumstances “determined by the Secretary to be exceptional,” to 

grant air carriers exemptions to reassign slot times to different hours as long as such 

exemptions do not:

(A) result in an increase in the total number of slots per day at DCA;

(B) result in an increase in the total number of slots from 7:00 am to 9:59 pm;

(C) increase operations in any one-hour period by more than two operations;

(D) result in the withdrawal or reduction of slots operated by an air carrier; or

(E) result in a net increase in noise impact on surrounding communities resulting 

from changes in timing of operations permitted under this subsection.

In accordance with 49 U.S.C. § 41714(d), Southwest hereby requests an 

exemption from 14 C.F.R. 93 for the following reassignment of its newly acquired 2100

slots to times that will enable Southwest to offer a viable schedule and effective low-fare 

competition:

 

1 Order 2003-9-30, Applications of ATA Airlines, Spirit Airlines, Colgan Air, Chautauqua Airlines (Sept. 30, 

2003).
3

Slide Request Effective September 6, 2012 

Slot Number Current Time Requested Time City Pair

1383 2100 1100 STL-DCA

1535 2100 1200 DCA-STL

1536 2100 1800 STL-DCA

124222100 1800 DCA-STL

As shown herein, Southwest’s application satisfies all applicable criteria to 

support the grant of an exemption for the above-requested slides. Southwest requests 

that the Department act on this application as expeditiously as possible due to the short 

timeframe available for marketing the new DCA-STL flights before the September 6 

transfer date established by Spirit. The new flights cannot be advertised until flight 

times are confirmed, and hence Southwest cannot begin marketing the flights until this 

application is acted upon.3 

I. Southwest’s Inability to Offer a Viable DCA-STL Schedule Without 

the Requested Slot Slides Warrants an Exemption

Southwest, a limited incumbent at DCA pursuant to the statutory definition in 49 

U.S.C. § 41714(h)(5)(B), as amended by the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 

2012, held only 18 slots at DCA prior to this transaction.

4

 Therefore, in contrast to the 

 

2

Slot #1242 is currently traded for a 2200 hour slot until October 27, 2012. Therefore, on an interim basis 

Southwest will use a 0700 slot (slot #1099) for its proposed slide until October 27, 2012, when slot #1242 

would revert to a 2100 slot and would be eligible for reassignment under § 41714(d).

3

Southwest is concurrently requesting a short term waiver from the FAA’s slot usage rules to enable 

Southwest to begin DCA-STL service at a later date in September 2012. However, the FAA’s action on 

that request is uncertain, and in no way diminishes the need for expeditious handling by the Department 

of the instant exemption request so that Southwest can advertise and sell the flights as soon as possible. 

4

Southwest also holds eight city-specific DCA slot exemptions that cannot be transferred between 

markets and are not included in the limited incumbent cap of 40 slots, see 49 U.S.C. § 41714(h)(5)(B)(i). 
4

dominant DCA carrier with hundreds of slots at its disposal, Southwest does not have 

the ability to trade slots from its existing portfolio to create a viable DCA-STL schedule. 

Moreover, it is unlikely that another DCA carrier would be willing to trade optimal slot 

times for less desirable 2100 slots. 

In previous slot slide proceedings, DOT has found that similar facts present 

“exceptional circumstances” within the meaning of the statute. For example, in its 2003 

proceeding granting slot slides to four carriers from the 2100 hour to more viable times 

throughout the day, the Department stated:

We agree that 2100 hour slots have little or no utility to a carrier that has 

no other slots. While other alternatives may exist that could enable these 

carriers to offer viable service, none are as practical or sure as the 

approach they have pursued here--that of seeking authority under section 

41714(d) to move 2100 hour slots to other available times. Moreover, if a 

grant of that authority is denied here, carriers may face the choice of either 

operating their service at a loss or relinquishing the slots to FAA, at least 

temporarily frustrating the purpose for which the FAA’s slot lottery was 

instituted. Precisely because the flexibility of these limited slot holders is 

so constrained, their circumstances are exceptional.5

Similarly, without an exemption from the Department to re-time its four 2100 slots, 

Southwest will be unable to offer a viable schedule, provide new low-fare competition in 

its planned market, and maximize the public benefits from using these slots. 

Moreover, Southwest’s plan to initiate the only low-fare service between DCASTL in competition with an incumbent monopoly carrier also supports the grant of an 

exemption. In granting past slide requests, DOT has recognized the “competitive spur” 

that low-fare carriers provide at DCA as an element of the “exceptional circumstances 

 

The above-noted holdings include those of both Southwest Airlines and its wholly-owned subsidiary 

AirTran Airways.

5 Order 2003-9-30, Applications of ATA Airline, Spirit Airlines,, Colgan Air,, Chautauqua Airlines, (Sept.

30, 2003), at p. 6 (emphasis added); see also, Order-2000-7-20, Application of Midwest Express Airlines, 

July 14, 2000, at p. 4 (“our authority to grant exemptions for slot slides at Regan National is applicable 

only in limited circumstances to meet the specific needs of carriers holding a limited number of slots at the 

airport.”).
5

criterion.” 6 Southwest has a long record of providing robust, sustained low-fare 

competition including at airports where it has a relatively small presence.

In order to maximize the public benefits from these scarce slot resources, 

Southwest proposes to offer one DCA late morning arrival/midday departure and one

DCA late afternoon arrival/early evening departure. This schedule not only would 

provide consumers with business-friendly travel times to meet market demand but also 

would facilitate connections beyond STL that will improve access to DCA for several 

other cities. The Department has consistently recognized both of these factors as 

demonstrating exceptional circumstances as well.7 

II. Grant of the Requested Slides Will Enable Southwest to Provide 

Low-Fare Competition and Significant Consumer Benefits in the 

DCA-STL Market 

Southwest’s proposal for sliding its four newly acquired slots will provide much 

needed low-fare competition and superior service in the DCA-STL market. Currently, 

American Airlines provides the only nonstop service on this route with three daily flights 

on 64-seat CR7 aircraft.

8

 In contrast, Southwest proposes to operate two nonstop 

roundtrip flights per day with mainline 737-700 aircraft having 137 or 143 seats, more 

than twice that of American’s aircraft. In other words, with one-third fewer slots, 

Southwest would actually offer over 40% more seats in the market as American. 

Southwest’s competition will thus not only provide far better utilization of scarce slot 

resources, but in so doing will offer major benefits to travelers in a greatly under-served

market. 

Southwest’s requested slides will also facilitate numerous beyond-STL 

 

6 Order 2003-9-30, supra, citing Orders 97-10-16 and 98-4-22. 

7 Order 2003-9-30, supra, citing Orders 99-11-4, 2000-10-32, 2000-2-33, and 2000-7-20.

8 Official Airline Guide (OAG); Schedule for Sept. 10, 2012.
6

connections that will improve access to DCA from several additional cities. Southwest 

currently serves 36 nonstop destinations from STL, and a significant number of these 

will conveniently connect to Southwest’s proposed STL-DCA flights. In contrast, 2100 

hour (9 pm) slots at DCA would offer minimal if any connecting possibilities even if they 

were otherwise viable, which they are not. 

III. Southwest’s Request Meets All Statutory Criteria

For Granting Slot Reassignments at DCA 

In addition to presenting exceptional circumstances, Southwest’s application fully 

satisfies each of the criteria established by Section 41714(d) for grant of an exemption 

from DCA slot rules:

First, approval of Southwest’s request will not increase the total number of daily 

slots at DCA. The requested slides will simply move existing slots to time periods that 

provide more convenient travel options for the public and will allow Southwest, a limited 

incumbent, to compete more effectively with larger DCA carriers. 

Second, the reassignment will not increase the total number of DCA slots 

between 7:00 am and 9:59 pm EST but will instead simply re-time slots that already fall 

within this timeframe. 

Third, the slides that Southwest is requesting will not increase the number of 

operations at DCA in any one-hour period by more than two operations. Southwest has 

worked closely with the FAA’s Slot Administration Office to assure that its requested slot 

times are currently available for reassignment under 41714(d) and will not exceed the 

two-slide-per-hour limit.9

 

9

In fact, in the 1800 hour Southwest is proposing to replace the two slides that Colgan Air operated in 

that hour until January 2012 when it discontinued that service. Therefore, Southwest’s requested slides 

will largely maintain the operational status quo at DCA.
7

Fourth, granting Southwest’s application will not result in the withdrawal or 

reduction of slots operated by any other air carrier and will in fact have no operational 

impact on other airlines at DCA. 

Fifth, the requested reassignments will not result in a net increase in the noise 

impact on surrounding communities. Southwest will use single-aisle Boeing 737 aircraft 

that are Stage III noise compliant. In addition, Southwest is proposing to move flights 

currently designated for the 9 to 10 pm evening hours to times earlier in the day, which 

may have less perceived noise impact on the surrounding communities. 

WHEREFORE, Southwest respectfully requests that the Department grant an 

exemption permitting the reassignment of its 2100 hour DCA slots to the 1100, 1200, 

and 1800 slot hours as specified in this Application. Because of the September 6, 2012 

start-up date for this service, Southwest requests that the Department act on this 

application as quickly as possible so that Southwest can promptly begin marketing and 

sales of these important new flight opportunities. 

Respectfully submitted,

_____________________

Robert W. Kneisley 

July 3, 2012
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I hereby certify that on July 3, 2012, a copy of the foregoing was served via email on the following persons:

anita.mosner@hklaw.com (Air Canada)

msinick@ssd.com (Alaska Airlines)

carl.nelson@aa.com (American Airlines)

robert.wirik@aa.com (American Airlines)

sascha.vanderbellen@delta.com (Delta Air Lines)

robert.cohn@hoganlovells.com (Frontier Airlines)

patrick.rizzi@hoganlovells.com (Frontier Airlines

jhill@dowlohnes.com (JetBlue Airways)

robert.land@jetblue.com (JetBlue Airways)

dkirstein@yklaw.com (Spirit Airlines)

jyoung@yklaw.com (Spirit Airlines)

John.Fredericksen@suncountry.com (Sun Country Airlines)

dan.weiss@united.com (United Air Lines)

howard_kass@usairways.com (US Airways)

benjamin.slocum@usairways.com (US Airways)

barbara.russell@virginamerica.com (Virgin America)

susan.kurland@dot.gov

robert.letteney@dot.gov

todd.homan@dot.gov

bob.goldner@dot.gov

jim.dann@dot.gov

brian.ctr.meehan@faa.gov

John E. Potter

President and Chief Executive Officer 

Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority

john.potter@mwaa.com

Rhonda K. Hamm-Niebruegge

Director

Lambert-St. Louis International Airport 

10701 Lambert International Boulevard 

St. Louis, MO 63145

RKHamm-Niebruegge@flysti.com

__________________________

Dorothy C. Sauvinet