BEFORE THE

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY WASHINGTON, D.C.

________________________ __________________ ) Application of ) )

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO. ) ) Docket DOT-OST-2000-7182 under 49 U.S.C. § 41718 for pendente lite ) authority to operate slot ex emptions between ) Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport ) and Kansas City, Missouri (DCA-MCI) )

__________________ ________________________ )

APPLICATION OF SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO.

FOR PENDENTE LITE AUTHORITY TO SERVE DCA-MCI

Communications with respect to this

document should be addressed to:

Ron Ricks Robert W. Kneisley

Executive Vice President & Associate General Counsel Chief Legal & Regulatory Officer Leslie C. Abbott Mark Shaw Senior Attorney

Vice President General C ounsel SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO. and Corporate Secretary 1901 L Street, NW, Suite 640 SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO. Washington, DC 20036

2702 Love Field Drive bob.kneisley@wnco.com
Dallas, TX 75235-1611 (202) 263-6284

NOTICE : Southwest will POLL the carriers on the attached service list regarding this application and will notify the Depart ment of the results as soon as possible.

July 29, 2013Pendente Lite Application of Southwest Airlines (DCA-MCI) July 29, 2013

1 BEFORE THE

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY WASHINGTON, D.C.

________________________ __________________ ) Application of ) )

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO. ) ) Docket DOT-OST-2000-7182 under 49 U.S.C. § 41718 for pendente lite ) authority to operate slot ex emptions between ) Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport ) and Kansas City, Missouri (DCA-MCI) )

__________________ ________________________ )

APPLICATION OF SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO.

FOR PENDENTE LITE AUTHORITY TO SERVE DCA-MCI

Pursuant to 49 U.S.C. § 41718, Southw est Airlines Co. (Southwest) hereby

requests pendente lite authority to operate two inside-per imeter slot exemptions for

service between Reagan Washin gton National Airport (DCA ) and Kansas City, Missouri

(MCI) immediately following the planned cessati on of Frontier Airlines’ service on this

route January 5, 2014. Southwest proposes to initiate daily service between DCA and

MCI on January 6, 2014, thereby ens uring that that t here is no disruption of service or

inconvenience to consumers on this important route.

I. BACKGROUND

The DCA-MCI route has been served with sl ot exemptions for nearly a decade.

Pursuant to provisions of the Vision 100 Act, 1 the Department awarded two DCA slot

1 Vision 100 – Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act, Pub. L. No. 108-176.Pendente Lite Application of Southwest Airlines (DCA-MCI) July 29, 2013

2 exemptions to Midwest Airli nes for service to MCI in 2004. 2 In December 2010, after

Republic Airways acquired Midwest and transf erred the DCA-MCI service to Republic

subsidiary Frontier Airlines, the Depart ment withdrew the two exemptions for

reallocation. Subsequently , however, pursuant to Orde r 2012-3-8 on March 13, 2012,

the Department restored the slot exemptions to Republic/Fr ontier for DCA-MCI service.

Frontier currently operates thes e slot exemptions with 99 seat E-190 aircraft and is the

only low-fare carrier offering nons top service on this route.

Frontier recently indicated its intention to discontinue service in the DCA-MCI

market after January 5, 2014. Within the la st several days Frontier informed the Kansas

City International Airport that it would di scontinue DCA-MCI service after that date,

2014, and removed from the OAG Scheduling Dat abase all of its previously-scheduled

flights on this route after January 5, 2014. Indeed, the Kansas City Aviation

Department, owner and operator of the Kans as City International Airport, strongly

supports the grant of pendente lite authority to Southwest to continue DCA-MCI service

after Frontier’s departure (see Attachment A).

II. SOUTHWEST’S SERVICE PROPOSAL

Southwest proposes to operate daily roundtrip nons top service between DCA

and MCI beginning January 6, 2014 immediatel y following the termination of Frontier’s

service on the route. Southwes t requests authority for this service until such time as the

Department reallocates these two slot exem ptions on a permanent basis. Southwest

proposes the following schedule for this service:

MCI-DCA 11:05-14:25

2 Order 2004-4-2, April 2, 2004.Pendente Lite Application of Southwest Airlines (DCA-MCI) July 29, 2013

3 DCA-MCI 14:55-16:50 3

Southwest plans to provide this servic e using its Stage 3 143-seat Boeing 737

aircraft, fully leveraging the valuable DCA slot exemptions and providing the only

mainline aircraft service on this route (see Exhibit WN-1). In fa ct, Southwest’s average

aircraft size would be 44% higher than Frontier’s discontinued service and almost

double US Airways’ average per flight (s ee Exhibit WN-2).

III. DOT PRECEDENT SUPPORTS THE GRANT OF PENDENTE LITE

AUTHORITY TO MAINTAIN UNINT ERRUPTED USE OF VALUABLE

SLOT EXEMPTIONS AND TO PR EVENT DISRUPTION TO THE

TRAVELING PUBLIC

The Department has consistently granted pendente lite authority where

necessary to maintain the operation of val uable slot exemptions and prevent disruption

in service to the flying publ ic pending the Departm ent’s decision to reallocate the slot

exemptions on a long-term basis. Most re cently the Department granted US Airways

pendente lite authority in the DCA-Jackson, Mississi ppi market after Delta Airlines

announced that it was terminating service on this route. See Order 2012-1-19, Jan. 25,

2012; see also Notice, Sept. 2, 2010, Do cket OST-2000-7182, at 1-2 (approving

Republic’s request to provide pendente lite service in the DCA-MCI market); and Order

2003-7-5, July 5, 2003 (awarding pendente lite authority to US Airways in the DCAWilmington, NC market). The principles of those cases apply equally here, as Southwest

proposes to provide DCA-MCI service immedi ately following Frontie r’s exit from the

market until the Department has made a decision on long-term reallocation of the slot

exemptions. Granting Southwest pendente lite authority will prevent disruption to

3 FAA has assigned slot times for the two DCA-MCI exemptions in the 1100 and 1400 hour periods. See Order 2012-3-8, March 8, 2012, at 3.Pendente Lite Application of Southwest Airlines (DCA-MCI) July 29, 2013

4 consumers in this market while simult aneously ensuring that valuable DCA slot

exemptions do not go unused.

Kansas City International Airport serv es close to ten million annual passengers

from Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska. These states and the communities within

them have important ties to the federal government and t he Washington, D.C. area.

Ensuring that there is no disruption in DCA -MCI air service will provide significant

benefits to both business and leisure travelers in this region.

WHEREFORE, Southwest respectfully reques ts that the Department grant its

Application for pendente lite authority to operate two inside- perimeter slot exemptions in

the DCA-MCI market beginning January 6, 2014 until such time as the Department

reallocates the exemptions on a permanent basis. Southwest will poll carriers with

respect to this application and provide t he results to the Department as quickly as

possible.

Respectfully submitted,

______ ____________________ Robert W. Kneisley July 29, 2013Pendente Lite Application of Southwest Airlines (DCA-MCI) July 29, 2013

5 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I hereby certify that on July 29, 2013, a copy of the foregoing was served via email on the following persons:

msinick@ssd.com (Alaska Airlines)
francis.heil@aa.com (American Airlines)
sascha.vanderbellen@delta.com (Delta Air Lines) robert.cohn@hoganlovells.com (Frontier Airlines & Republic Airline) patrick.rizzi@hoganlovells.com (Frontier Airlines & Republic Airline robert.land@jetblue.com (JetBlue Airways) jhill@dowlohnes.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) pmurphy@lopmurphy.com (USA3000) barbara.russell@virginamerica.com (Virgin America) jegillick@zsrlaw.com (Virgin America)

susan.kurland@dot.gov Bob.Goldner@dot.gov todd.homan@dot.gov peter.irving@dot.gov James.Dann@dot.gov Brian.ctr.meehan@faa.gov

Mark D. VanLoh, A.A.E.

Director of Aviation Kansas City International Airport

601 Brasilia Avenue Kansas City, MO 64153-2054

John Potter

President and CEO Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority

1 Aviation Circle Washington, DC 20001

info@airlineinfo.com

_________________________ Leslie C. Abbott

# ATTACHMENT ASouthwest Airlines’ Proposed DCA-MCI ServiceExhibit WN-1SEAPDXMCIPDXDCAMCIMCIABQOAKLASDENABQLAXSANPHXDALDALProposed DCA RouteCurrent WN Beyond MCI RoutesAircraft to be Used: B737-700Seats per Aircraft: 143Daily DCA Departures: 1Note: Southwest’s DCA routes include routes served byAirTran, a wholly owned subsidiary of Southwest.Source: Innovata Schedule data for August 12, 2013.Southwest’s Average Seats per Departure in the DCA-MCI MarketWill Be 44% Higher Than Frontier’s DiscontinuedS i d Al t D bl US Ai ’ A Fli htExhibit WN-2Average Seats perDepartureService andAlmostDoubleUSAirways’Average perFlight120140160143+44%+96%801009973+44+704060020Southwest Frontier U.S. Airways(737-700)(E190)(2-E170 1-E175),Note: Southwest’s DCA routes include routes served byAirTran, a wholly owned subsidiary of Southwest.Source: Innovata Schedule data for August 12, 2013.