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 exemptions 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 Counsel 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 Department of the results as soon as possible. 

July 29, 2013
Pendente 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 exemptions 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, Southwest Airlines Co. (Southwest) hereby 

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

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

(MCI) immediately following the planned cessation 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 ensuring that that there is no disruption of service or 

inconvenience to consumers on this important route. 

I. BACKGROUND

The DCA-MCI route has been served with slot 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 Airlines for service to MCI in 2004.2 In December 2010, after 

Republic Airways acquired Midwest and transferred the DCA-MCI service to Republic 

subsidiary Frontier Airlines, the Department withdrew the two exemptions for 

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

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

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

only low-fare carrier offering nonstop service on this route. 

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

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

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

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

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

Department, owner and operator of the Kansas 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 nonstop service between DCA 

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

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

Department reallocates these two slot exemptions 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 14:55-16:503 

Southwest plans to provide this service 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 fact, Southwest’s average 

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

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

III. DOT PRECEDENT SUPPORTS THE GRANT OF PENDENTE LITE

AUTHORITY TO MAINTAIN UNINTERRUPTED USE OF VALUABLE

SLOT EXEMPTIONS AND TO PREVENT DISRUPTION TO THE 

TRAVELING PUBLIC 

The Department has consistently granted pendente lite authority where 

necessary to maintain the operation of valuable slot exemptions and prevent disruption 

in service to the flying public pending the Department’s decision to reallocate the slot 

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

pendente lite authority in the DCA-Jackson, Mississippi 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, Docket 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 immediately following Frontier’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 simultaneously ensuring that valuable DCA slot 

exemptions do not go unused. 

Kansas City International Airport serves 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 the 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 requests 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 the results to the Department as quickly as 

possible. 

 

 Respectfully submitted, 

 __________________________ 

 Robert W. Kneisley 

July 29, 2013 

 
Pendente 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 A


Southwest Airlines’ Proposed DCA-MCI Service

SEA

PDX

MCI

PDX

MCI MCI DC

ABQ

OAK

LAS

DEN

ABQ

LAX

SAN

PHX

DAL DAL

Proposed DCA RouteCurrent WN Beyond MCI Routes

Aircraft to be USeats per AircDaily DCA Dep

Note: Southwest’s DCA routes include routes served by AirTran, a wholly owned subsidiary of Southwest.Source: Innovata Schedule data for August 12, 2013.
Southwest’s Average Seats per Departure in the DCA-MCI 

Will Be 44% Higher Than Frontier’s Discontinued 

S i d Al t D bl US Ai ’ A Fl

Average Seats perDeparture

Service an

d Almos

t

Double US Airways’ Average per Fl

120140160

143

+44% +96%

80

100

99

73

+44 +70

4060

0

20

Southwest Frontier U.S. Airw

(737-700) (E190) (2-E170 1,-

Note: Southwest’s DCA routes include routes served by AirTran, a wholly owned subsidiary of Southwest.Source: Innovata Schedule data for August 12, 2013.