1 BEFORE&THE DEPARTMENT&OF&TRANSPORTATION OFFICE&OF&THE&SECRETARY WASHINGTON,&D.C.

___________________________________________ ______________________ ) Application!of! ) ) SOUTHWEST&AIRLINES ) )&& Docket&DOT
= OST
= 2000
= 7182 For! exemption s from!14 C.F.R.!! Part!93 ) Subparts!K!and S! Pursuant!to!49!U.S.C.! § 41718(b) ) )

____________ _____________________________________________________ )

COMMENTS&OF&THE SOUTHWEST&AIRLINES&PILOTS’&ASSO C I ATION

Communications!with!resp ect!to!this!document!should!be!addressed!to: Paul!Jackson Government!Affairs Southwest!Airlines!Pilots ’ Association 1450!Empire!Central Dallas,!TX!!75247!!! (800)!969

W 7972 pjackson@swapa.org2 I.&&INTRODUCTION The! Southwest! Airlines!Pilots Association!( “SWAPA”)!is!the!exclusive!b argaining! representative!for the! more!than!6 , 5 00! Southwest!Airlines!pilots

.! We!have reviewed! the!docket!filings!by!Am erican!Airlines,!JetBlue,!PeoplE xpress! and!Southwest!Airlines for the!permanent!award!of!two within

W perimeter!D CA! slot! exemptions pursuant!to!the!provisions!of!Air

W 21. The!Southwest!Airlines!Pilots!Association!firmly!believes!that!the!current! pendent e lite MCI

W DCA! service! should!be! awarded!as!a!permanent!slot!award!under! the!provisions!of!
Air

W 21,! because!Southwest! Airlines!has!shown,!through!the! provision!of! current!service that the!addition!of!a!large

W network,!low

W cost!carrier!has!significantly!increased! competitive!b enefits!for!the!MCI!market.!! The!proposals!by!other!airlines!to!remove!this! service!would!serve!to create!a monopoly!market!for!MCI

W DCA!through!the!removal!of! low

W fare!competition

.!! Other!options! do!not!present!the!same! competitive benefit s.!!Proposals by!American!and!JetBlue!for replacement!service! would also! significantly!reduce!the! number!of!low

W co st!seats!serving!DCA

.

II.&&ANALYSIS& OF APPLICATIONS&BY&AIRLINES&FOR& AIR
= 21& EXEM P TION

A.& American&Airlines
. American Airlines!proposes!to use!the!slot!pair!to!“maintain “!existing!service! between!ISP!and! DCA

.!!!! 1. As!pilots, the!first!observation!that!we make regarding!American!Airline’s! filing!is!an!obvious!one to!those!who!operate!aircraft!in!and!out!of!DCA

.!!3 When!we! land!a!Southwest!jet!at! either!DCA!or LGA,!both! of!which!are! capacity

W constrained/slot

W controlled!airports,!we!have!to!scratch!our!head!at the!fact!that!American!chooses!to!place!their!smallest!airplanes in!service!at! the!busiest airports!in!the!country.!!When!we!land!a!Boeing!737!with!either! 143!or!175!seats (often!including!three!more!commuting!crewmembers!in! jum pseats)!we!are!bewildered a t!the! flood!of!regional!jets!that!are!only one W third!to!one

W half!our!size that! fill the!taxiways!and!occupy gates!that!could!

serve! perhaps!twice!as!many!passenge rs!with a!simple!shift!to! narrow W body! aircraft.!! In!this!filing ,!American! proposes!to!serve! an airport! with!such!hig h!demand! that!slot!controls!have!been!instituted,! utilizing! small!reg ional!jets.!! SWAPA! argues!that!if the!reader!of!this!filing!could!spend!a!day!riding alongside!us in! the!cockpit s of!our!airplanes!to!an d!from!DCA,! the!folly!of!wast i ng!limited!
tarmac! capacity! and!gates!through!the!scheduling!of small airplanes would! become!apparent

.!

When!we!wait!in!the!“line

W up”!for!takeoff!behind!eight!small!regional!jets,! it!is! obvious!to!even!the!most!casual!observer!that those!eight! small! jets! could!be! repla ced!by!only!four!narrow

W body!planes,! which!would! f ree! up!four!more! slots!for! capacity

W hungry!DCA!passengers!to!utilize.!!Fr om!the!cockpit,!it!is! obvious!that!there!is! dissonan ce!between!the!argument that!an airport!is sufficiently busy! such! t hat! c ontrolling!access must!be!accomplished!through!4 the!awarding!of!slots ,!but!then!in!turn! also! argue that! placing!the!smallest! aircraft!available!to!Amer ican!Airlines!on!these!routes!makes!sense.
2. American!claims!what!appears!to!be!a!quasi

W catchment!area! of!“nearly!two! million people ”!for!ISP.!!We!argue!that! even!a!casual!glance!at!a!map!of!Long! Island!and!the!outer!boroughs!of!New!York!City!shows that!the!entirety!of! this!population!has! access!to! DCA service!by!virtue!of!proximity!to LGA and! JFK

.!!! We!als o!find!the!ability!of!American!to!“up

W gauge”!service!from!small! planes!to!narrow

W body!aircraft!would!certainly!allow!them!to!free!up! a!slot! pair!if!they! believe!the!ISP

W DCA!market! is!robust!enough!to!require!regional! jet!service at!the!fares!they!charge

. 3. T he!sixth! point!in!American’s!filing! appears! to!be!a!naked argum ent for!the unwind ing!of part!of! the!recent!slot!divestiture!required!by!the!Department! of! Justice.!! “ Absent&the&requirement&to&divest&slots&at&DCA ,&Islip&would¬&lose& its&nonstop&DCA&service , ” states!American.!!This then continues!to!a!puzzling! conclusion,!which!appears!to!be!a! demand that!Southwest!Airlines! give!up!its!

narrow W body! pendente lite MCI

W DCA!Boeing!737!service to counteract!this slot!divestiture.!!!! From!a!network!planning!perspec tive,!a!more!cogent!
statement! might be,! “Absent!the decision!to! utilize only!very!small!airplanes! in!a!slot

W controlled!environment,!slots!could!be free d!up! to!service!markets! such!as ISP

W DCA!th at inefficiencies! now!make!difficult.”
4. An!81%!load!factor!on!A merican’s!50

W seat!regional! jet!indicates that!each! flight!to!DCA! will!generally!have!on!average only!41!passengers.!!Of!these!41!5 passengers,!22!will!then!connect!through!to!a!different!city!than!Washington,!
DC.!!!

In!fewer!than!two!months,!Southwest!Airli ne’s!load!factor!has!already! exceeded!85% for!the!Kansas!City!passengers .!!Back

W of

W the

W envelope!math! (or! “ back

W of

W the

W napkin ” math in reference! to! Southwest’s!roots)!indicate! that!each!MCI

W DCA!flight!on!Southwest!would!carry! on!average! 122! passengers!de sti ned!for!Washington,! 100!more!than!American’s!ISP

W DCA! flight. 5. Although!not!present!in American’s!filing,! there!is!an!argument!that!casts!a! wide!shadow!over!a!potential!decision!to! remove low!cost!carrier!service! from!MCI

W DCA.!!Although!American!makes!most! of!its!arguments!about!the! serving!of!ISP,! the!other!side! of! such!a!decision!to!remove a!low!cost! competitor!from!MCI

W DCA! is!that!it! would! provide!American!with!a monopoly!market,!which! has! in!the!past! been!held!in!check!by! Frontier/Republic!and!now!Southw est!Airlines , for!nearly!a!decade

.!! One! could!ar gue!that!the ir claim! that! ISP

W DCA! will!be!dropped!if!the!DOT make s Southwest’s! pendente& lite MCI

W DCA!service!permanent is!a! red!herring .!!In!the! filing,!we!found no!cogent!con nection!between!service!at! ISP!an d!MCI .!!We! question!why!ser vice!to!ISP!is!dependent! on! whether!or!not!a!competitor!
retains service!to!a!completely!different!airport!1,000!miles!away when! American!has!access!to!over!500!slots!at!DCA.!6 6. Southwest!offers!connecting!service!to! nine!additional cities,! providing low

W fare competition to!some!of!the!largest!US!O&D!transcon!markets!in!the! United!S tates.!!Southwest ’ s!available! connections!through!MCI!produce more! consumer!choices!than!Fro ntier’s!earlier!service .!These!choices! would!be! removed!if!the pendene lite service! was forced!to!be!discontinued.!! Many!of! these!cities! available!through!connections! are!“beyon d

W perimeter”!and! provide! a ccess!to!the!nation’s!capital!for!passengers!outside!of!the!traditional! DCA!perimeter.
7. Common!sense!would!dictate!t hat!if!the!DOT!pulls!out!the!remaining!low

W fare! carrier!from!MCI

W DCA,!American’s!yield!wi ll!return!to!a!higher!nominal!value relative!to!distance!than!it!is!presently.!! A s!a!result!of! the!establishment!that consumer!behavior! mirrors the! price!elasticity!of demand ,!in!the!face!of!a! significant! reduction!in!capacity,!we!would!expect!that!the!number!of! travelers!in!this!O&D!market!would!decline!precipitously.!

B.& JetBlue&Airways
JetBlue!Airways!proposes! replacing!Southwest’s! pendente lite narrow W body!143

W se at! MCI

W DCA! service!with!100

W seat!regional!jet!service! between!JAX

W DCA!on!a!different!time! schedule!than!allowed!by! the!slot!schedule!they!propose!to!replace.!
1. The!same!argument!holds!true!as!with!American!Airline’s!proposal!to! utiliz e!regional!jets!from!IS P;! JetBlue!is!proposing!to!serv e!a!slot

W controlled!airport!with!smaller!aircraft!containing 43! fewer!seats than! Southwest’s!B737s.!7 2. The!Jacksonville!market!is!significantly!smaller!than!the!Kansas!City!area! market.!! Jacksonville’s!catchment!area!of!1.5!mi llion!metro!population!is! nearly!a!million!fewer!than!the!Kansas!City!catchment!area.!!!Empirically,! JetBlue!appears!to!recognize!this!difference,!as!they!propose!to!use!their! smallest!airplane! on!this route,!where!in!turn,!Southwest!is!already!filling!

a!m uch!larger!B737!after!only!instituting!service!within!the!last!several! months for!the!MCI!route

. 3. JAX!offers!minimal!conne ction!availability!(only!one!market,!SJU,!which! will!be!served!by!non

W stop!DCA!service).!!Southwest’s!MCI!service!offers!
nine!connectin g!cities,!many!beyond!the!DCA!perimeter.

C.& Pe oplE xpress/Vision PeoplE xpress,! through!the!proposed!utilization!of sub

W service!thro ugh!Vision! Airways,!proposes seasonal!service!between!MYR

W DCA! and!PBI

W DCA!utilizing!B737! aircraft.
1. SWAPA!applauds! the!foun ders!of! PeoplE xpress in!their!tenacity!to! resurrect!a!venerable!airline.!! However,!we!argue!that!their!application!is!
not! complete!and!should!not!be!considered! as!a!viable!option,!since! PeoplE xpress!has!not!yet!been!funded,!nor!have!they!received!an!
opera ting!certificate!gr anted!by!the!DOT,!nor!do!they!own!any!airplanes.
2. If!PeoplE xpress!were!awarded!a!slot!pair!and!proved!to!be!unable!to! provide!proposed!service!due!to! financial,!regulatory!or!other!challenges,! which!is!possible!if!not!likely, this!would! lead!to!the!worst!of!all!outcomes;!8 the!1,000!or!so!passeng ers!per!week!flying!to!DCA! from!MCI! would!lose! the!opportunity , with!no!matching!PBI!or!MYR!service to!make!up!for!the! consumer!loss .!!Peoplexpress,!in!our!opinion,!has!filed!prematurely

. 3. PeoplE xpre ss!proposes!to!use!Vison!Airways!to!provide!service,! presumably!until!they!are!certificated!by!the!DOT .!!This!appears!to!be!a!
cart
W before!the!horse!issue;!if!this!slot!is!to!be!operated!by!Vison,!then! Vison!sho uld!be!the!applicant,!not!PeoplE xpress.!! No!sc hedule!is!provided! for!the!changeover! of!service! between!airlines!and!no!evidence!that!the! financial,!operational!and!compliance!wherewithal!will!be! sufficient to! service!their!proposed!routes.!!!We!do!not!find!evidence!that! the!DOT!has! previously!awarded! a!slot!pair!to!an!airline!that!did!not! then! fly!the!route.!! In!fact,!the!“use!or!lose”!doctrine!appears!to!be!at!odds!with!this!approach.!! This!appears!to!be!the!essence!of!the!government

W mandated! slot!scheme;! the!Department!grants!and!rescinds!slot!author ities!to!indiv idual!airlines,! which!the!PeoplE xpress!application!appears!to!not! address!properly!in!its! application.

III.&&CONCLUSION Of!the! three serious!applicants,! Southwest!offers!the!largest!aircraft!with!the!most!
seats from!the!largest!catchment!ar ea! to!the!DCA!market.!!MCI!has! enjoyed!robust! competition!on!the!MCI

W DCA!routes!for!nearly!a!decade;!reducing!the!MCI

W DCA!route!to!a! monopoly route!will!likely! hurt!the!pock et book!of!every! future! MCI

W DCA!passenger,!of! which!it!is!near

W certain!there!would!b e!far!fewer.!!We!argue!that!American!Airlines!could!9 achieve!its!goal!of! retaining!ISP

W DCA!service!simply!through!efficient!al location!of!larger! aircraft!and!theorize!that! although!they!are!silent!on!the!topic,! American!may! in!fact! welcome!the!dropping!of!l ow W fare competition!from!their large!market in!MCI,!c ompetition! that!may!have!served!to!keep!American’s!yields!(and!fares)!low er!than!they!might!have! otherwise!been!for!the!past!decade .!!JetBlue ’s!proposal!to!serve!DCA!from!a!smaller! catchment!area!with!a! smaller!air craft!than!Southwest doesn’t!appear!to!be!more!beneficial! to!the!traveling!public!than the!Southwest!proposal allowing!MCI!to!retain!service!that!the! residents!clearly!love,!as!evidenced!by!the!high!demand!for! LUV!seats.!!PeoplE xpress! does!
not, in!our!opinion ,!appear!to!be!anywhere!near!the!stage!of!being!able!to!utilize!a!valuable! slot!pair in!an!industry

W standard!manner under!DOT!practices .!!Southwest!stepped!in!and! provided! pendente lite service!to!the!MCI!market! when!Republic!exited,! and!has, through! empirical evidence! consisting! of! flying! full!aircraft,!provided!this!service! with!typical! Southwest!excellence.!!If!one!were!to!consider!the! pendent e lite service!as!a!test,!Southwest! has!passed!with!flying!colors!and!deserves!to!retain! the!slots

.10 CERTIFICATE&OF&SERVI CE I ,! Paul! Jackson hereby! certify! that! on! April! 1 ,! 201 4 ,! a! copy! of! the! foregoing! was! served!via!e

W mail!on!the!following!persons: msinick@ssd.com (Alaska!Airlines) howard.kass@aa.com (American!Airlines) francis.heil@aa.com (American!Airlines) sascha.vanderbellen@delta.com (Delta!Air!Lines) robert.cohn@hoganlovells.com ( Republic!Airways ) patrick.rizzi@hoganlovells.com ( Republic!Airways) robert.land@jetblue.com (JetBlue!Airways) jhill@dowlohnes.com (JetBlue!Airways) perkmann@dowlohnes.com (JetBlue!Airways) shawn.voyles@flypex.co m (People!Express) mike.morisi@flypex.com (People!Express) dkirstein@yklaw.com (Spirit!Airlines) jyoung@yklaw.com (Spirit!Airli nes) bob.kneisley@wnco.com (Southwest!Airlines) leslie.abbott@wnco.com (Southwest!Airlines) John.Fredericksen@suncountry.com (Sun!Country!Airlines) dan.weiss@united.com (United!Air!Lines) pmurphy@lopmurphy.com (USA3000) john.varley@virginamerica.com (Virgin!America)! susan.kurland@dot.gov bob.goldner@dot.gov todd.homan@dot.gov peter.irvine@dot.gov brian.ctr.meehan@faa.gov Mark!D.!VanLoh,!A.A.E. Director!of!Aviation Kansas!City!International!Airport Mark.VanLoh@kcmo.org Deborah!Ale!Flint Aviation Director for!the!Port!of!Oakland Oakland!International!Airport dale@portoakland.com John!E.!Potter President!and!Chief!Executive!Officer! Metropolitan!Washing ton!Airports!Authority john.potter@mwaa.com info@airlineinfo.com