1

BEFORE&THE

DEPARTMENT&OF&TRANSPORTATION

OFFICE&OF&THE&SECRETARY

WASHINGTON,&D.C.

_________________________________________________________________

)

Application!of! )

)

SOUTHWEST&AIRLINES )

)&&Docket&DOT=OST=2000=7182

For!exemptions 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’&ASSOCIATION

Communications!with!respect!to!this!document!should!be!addressed!to:

Paul!Jackson

Government!Affairs

Southwest!Airlines!Pilots’ Association

1450!Empire!Central

Dallas,!TX!!75247!!!(800)!969W7972

pjackson@swapa.org
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I.&&INTRODUCTION

The!Southwest!Airlines!Pilots Association!(“SWAPA”)!is!the!exclusive!bargaining!

representative!for the!more!than!6,500!Southwest!Airlines!pilots.!

We!have reviewed!the!docket!filings!by!American!Airlines,!JetBlue,!PeoplExpress!

and!Southwest!Airlines for the!permanent!award!of!two withinWperimeter!DCA!slot!

exemptions pursuant!to!the!provisions!of!AirW21.

The!Southwest!Airlines!Pilots!Association!firmly!believes!that!the!current!pendente

lite MCIWDCA!service!should!be!awarded!as!a!permanent!slot!award!under!the!provisions!of!

AirW21,!because!Southwest!Airlines!has!shown,!through!the!provision!of!current!service

that the!addition!of!a!largeWnetwork,!lowWcost!carrier!has!significantly!increased!

competitive!benefits!for!the!MCI!market.!! The!proposals!by!other!airlines!to!remove!this!

service!would!serve!to create!a monopoly!market!for!MCIWDCA!through!the!removal!of!lowW

fare!competition. !!Other!options!do!not!present!the!same!competitive benefits.!!Proposals

by!American!and!JetBlue!for replacement!service!would also!significantly!reduce!the!

number!of!lowWcost!seats!serving!DCA.

II.&&ANALYSIS&OF APPLICATIONS&BY&AIRLINES&FOR&AIR=21&EXEMPTION

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

capacityWconstrained/slotWcontrolled!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!

jumpseats)!we!are!bewildered at!the!flood!of!regional!jets!that!are!only oneW

third!to!oneWhalf!our!size that!fill the!taxiways!and!occupy gates!that!could!

serve!perhaps!twice!as!many!passengers!with a!simple!shift!to!narrowWbody!

aircraft.!!

In!this!filing,!American!proposes!to!serve!an airport!with!such!high!demand!

that!slot!controls!have!been!instituted,!utilizing!small!regional!jets.!!SWAPA!

argues!that!if the!reader!of!this!filing!could!spend!a!day!riding alongside!us in!

the!cockpits of!our!airplanes!to!and!from!DCA,!the!folly!of!wasting!limited!

tarmac!capacity!and!gates!through!the!scheduling!of small airplanes would!

become!apparent.!

When!we!wait!in!the!“lineWup”!for!takeoff!behind!eight!small!regional!jets,!it!is!

obvious!to!even!the!most!casual!observer!that those!eight!small!jets!could!be!

replaced!by!only!four!narrowWbody!planes,!which!would!free!up!four!more!

slots!for!capacityWhungry!DCA!passengers!to!utilize.!!From!the!cockpit,!it!is!

obvious!that!there!is!dissonance!between!the!argument that!an airport!is

sufficiently busy!such!that!controlling!access must!be!accomplished!through!
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the!awarding!of!slots,!but!then!in!turn!also!argue that!placing!the!smallest!

aircraft!available!to!American!Airlines!on!these!routes!makes!sense.

2. American!claims!what!appears!to!be!a!quasiWcatchment!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!also!find!the!ability!of!American!to!“upWgauge”!service!from!small!

planes!to!narrowWbody!aircraft!would!certainly!allow!them!to!free!up!a!slot!

pair!if!they!believe!the!ISPWDCA!market!is!robust!enough!to!require!regional!

jet!service at!the!fares!they!charge.

3. The!sixth!point!in!American’s!filing!appears!to!be!a!naked argument for!the

unwinding!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!

narrowWbody!pendente lite MCIWDCA!Boeing!737!service to counteract!this

slot!divestiture.!!!!From!a!network!planning!perspective,!a!more!cogent!

statement!might be,!“Absent!the decision!to!utilize only!very!small!airplanes!

in!a!slotWcontrolled!environment,!slots!could!be freed!up!to!service!markets!

such!as ISPWDCA!that inefficiencies!now!make!difficult.”

4. An!81%!load!factor!on!American’s!50Wseat!regional!jet!indicates that!each!

flight!to!DCA!will!generally!have!on!average only!41!passengers.!!Of!these!41!
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passengers,!22!will!then!connect!through!to!a!different!city!than!Washington,!

DC.!!!

In!fewer!than!two!months,!Southwest!Airline’s!load!factor!has!already!

exceeded!85% for!the!Kansas!City!passengers.!!BackWofWtheWenvelope!math!

(or!“backWofWtheWnapkin” math in reference!to!Southwest’s!roots)!indicate!

that!each!MCIWDCA!flight!on!Southwest!would!carry!on!average!122!

passengers!destined!for!Washington,!100!more!than!American’s!ISPWDCA!

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!MCIWDCA.!!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!MCIWDCA!is!that!it!would!provide!American!with!a

monopoly!market,!which!has!in!the!past!been!held!in!check!by!

Frontier/Republic!and!now!Southwest!Airlines, for!nearly!a!decade.!!One!

could!argue!that!their claim!that!ISPWDCA!will!be!dropped!if!the!DOT makes

Southwest’s!pendente&lite MCIWDCA!service!permanent is!a!red!herring.!!In!the!

filing,!we!found no!cogent!connection!between!service!at!ISP!and!MCI.!!We!

question!why!service!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.!
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6. Southwest!offers!connecting!service!to!nine!additional cities,!providing lowW

fare competition to!some!of!the!largest!US!O&D!transcon!markets!in!the!

United!States.!!Southwest’s!available!connections!through!MCI!produce more!

consumer!choices!than!Frontier’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!“beyondWperimeter”!and!

provide!access!to!the!nation’s!capital!for!passengers!outside!of!the!traditional!

DCA!perimeter.

7. Common!sense!would!dictate!that!if!the!DOT!pulls!out!the!remaining!lowWfare!

carrier!from!MCIWDCA,!American’s!yield!will!return!to!a!higher!nominal!value

relative!to!distance!than!it!is!presently.!!As!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 narrowWbody!143Wseat!

MCIWDCA!service!with!100Wseat!regional!jet!service!between!JAXWDCA!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!

utilize!regional!jets!from!ISP;!JetBlue!is!proposing!to!serve!a!slotW

controlled!airport!with!smaller!aircraft!containing 43!fewer!seats than!

Southwest’s!B737s.!
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2. The!Jacksonville!market!is!significantly!smaller!than!the!Kansas!City!area!

market.!! Jacksonville’s!catchment!area!of!1.5!million!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!much!larger!B737!after!only!instituting!service!within!the!last!several!

months for!the!MCI!route.

3. JAX!offers!minimal!connection!availability!(only!one!market,!SJU,!which!

will!be!served!by!nonWstop!DCA!service).!!Southwest’s!MCI!service!offers!

nine!connecting!cities,!many!beyond!the!DCA!perimeter.

C.& PeoplExpress/Vision

PeoplExpress,!through!the!proposed!utilization!of subWservice!through!Vision!

Airways,!proposes seasonal!service!between!MYRWDCA!and!PBIW DCA!utilizing!B737!

aircraft.

1. SWAPA!applauds!the!founders!of!PeoplExpress 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!

PeoplExpress!has!not!yet!been!funded,!nor!have!they!received!an!

operating!certificate!granted!by!the!DOT,!nor!do!they!own!any!airplanes.

2. If!PeoplExpress!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;!
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the!1,000!or!so!passengers!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. PeoplExpress!proposes!to!use!Vison!Airways!to!provide!service,!

presumably!until!they!are!certificated!by!the!DOT.!!This!appears!to!be!a!

cartWbefore!the!horse!issue;!if!this!slot!is!to!be!operated!by!Vison,!then!

Vison!should!be!the!applicant,!not!PeoplExpress.!!No!schedule!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!governmentWmandated!slot!scheme;!

the!Department!grants!and!rescinds!slot!authorities!to!individual!airlines,!

which!the!PeoplExpress!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!area!to!the!DCA!market.!!MCI!has!enjoyed!robust!

competition!on!the!MCIWDCA!routes!for!nearly!a!decade;!reducing!the!MCIWDCA!route!to!a!

monopoly route!will!likely!hurt!the!pocketbook!of!every!future!MCIWDCA!passenger,!of!

which!it!is!nearWcertain!there!would!be!far!fewer.!!We!argue!that!American!Airlines!could!
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achieve!its!goal!of!retaining!ISPWDCA!service!simply!through!efficient!allocation!of!larger!

aircraft!and!theorize!that!although!they!are!silent!on!the!topic,!American!may!in!fact!

welcome!the!dropping!of!lowWfare competition!from!their large!market in!MCI,!competition!

that!may!have!served!to!keep!American’s!yields!(and!fares)!lower!than!they!might!have!

otherwise!been!for!the!past!decade.!!JetBlue’s!proposal!to!serve!DCA!from!a!smaller!

catchment!area!with!a!smaller!aircraft!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.!!PeoplExpress!does!

not, in!our!opinion,!appear!to!be!anywhere!near!the!stage!of!being!able!to!utilize!a!valuable!

slot!pair in!an!industryWstandard!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!pendente lite service!as!a!test,!Southwest!

has!passed!with!flying!colors!and!deserves!to!retain!the!slots.
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CERTIFICATE&OF&SERVICE

I,! Paul! Jackson hereby! certify! that! on! April! 1,! 2014,! a! copy! of! the! foregoing! was!

served!via!eWmail!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.com (People!Express)

mike.morisi@flypex.com (People!Express)

dkirstein@yklaw.com (Spirit!Airlines)

jyoung@yklaw.com (Spirit!Airlines)

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!Washington!Airports!Authority

john.potter@mwaa.com

info@airlineinfo.com