BEFORE THE

FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

WASHINGTON, D.C.

____________________________________

In the Matter of the Joint Petition of )

)

REPUBLIC AIRLINE INC. ) Docket No. FAA-2002-13734;

SHUTTLE AMERICA CORPORATION ) Exemption No. 7370G

)

For exemption from 14 C.F.R. Section 93.123 )

_____________________________________ )

JOINT RESPONSE OF SOUTHWEST AIRLINES AND JETBLUE AIRWAYS

Ron Ricks James Hnat

 Executive Vice President -- Executive Vice President

 Chief Legal and Regulatory Officer JetBlue Airways Corporation

Mark Shaw 27-01 Queens Plaza North

 Vice President General Counsel & Long Island City, NY 11101

 Corporate Secretary

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO. Robert C. Land

2702 Love Field Drive Senior Vice President

Dallas, TX 75235-1611 JetBlue Airways Corporation

1212 New York Ave., N.W.

Robert W. Kneisley Suite 1212

 Associate General Counsel Washington, DC 20005

Leslie C. Abbott 

 Senior Attorney Jonathan B. Hill

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO. J. Parker Erkmann

919 18th Street, N.W. Cooley LLP

Suite 600 1299 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.

Washington, DC 20006 Washington, DC 20004

bob.kneisley@wnco.com jhill@cooley.com

(202) 263-6284 perkmann@cooley.com

Counsel for JetBlue

Airways Corporation

January 30, 2014
1

BEFORE THE

FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

WASHINGTON, D.C.

____________________________________

In the Matter of the Joint Petition of )

)

REPUBLIC AIRLINE INC. ) Docket No. FAA-2002-13734;

SHUTTLE AMERICA CORPORATION ) Exemption No. 7370G

)

For exemption from 14 C.F.R. Section 93.123 )

_____________________________________ )

JOINT RESPONSE OF SOUTHWEST AIRLINES AND JETBLUE AIRWAYS

Southwest Airlines and JetBlue Airways file this brief Joint Response to the

January 29, 2014 letter (“Letter”) of Republic Airline and its corporate affiliates Shuttle 

America and Chautauqua Airlines concerning the use of Exemption No. 7370 for service 

provided exclusively under the Delta Connection brand between Ronald Reagan 

Washington National Airport (“DCA”) and Madison, Wisconsin (“MSN”).1 

Republic’s Letter is most notable for what it does not say, rather than what it 

does. It does not even attempt to reconcile the de facto transfer of this slot exemption 

to Delta Air Lines, the second largest slot holder at DCA, with the two decades of 

precedent and explicit FAA findings that the slot exemption in question is intended to 

allow new entrant and limited incumbent carriers to “maintain or achieve access to the 

airport” so that they may better compete with larger carriers. Moreover, Republic does 

not even acknowledge, much less defend, its unauthorized advertising and selling of the 

service to the public without waiting for FAA to make a decision on its pending petition. 

 

1

To the extent necessary, Southwest and JetBlue seek leave from the FAA to file this Joint Response. Good cause 

exists for this filing because it will lead to a more complete record for decision without causing any undue delay. 
2

Lacking a legitimate defense on the merits, Republic resorts to arguing that its 

petition must be granted in order to avoid depriving Madison of nonstop service to DCA. 

This is both inaccurate and irrelevant. In fact, two distinct service options are available

to provide nonstop DCA-MSN service today, not to mention possible future service from 

other carriers. First, Delta is free to serve Madison at any time, as it did for many years, 

with two of its more than 100 unencumbered DCA slots. In addition, Republic and its 

corporate affiliates Shuttle America and Chautauqua are also currently able to serve the 

market, at the existing schedule times, in their own names. Republic and Delta have 

chosen not to avail themselves of either option, however. Instead they hope to achieve 

a more profitable outcome by threatening to exit the market unless FAA allows a 

transfer that is flatly inconsistent with the conditions of the exemption itself. FAA should 

not succumb to such pressure tactics.

Beyond this, nonstop service to DCA is important to many cities and communities

that lack such service due to capacity restraints at DCA. A desire for nonstop flights to 

DCA is hardly unique to Madison, and that community’s understandable interest in 

maintaining such service cannot override the FAA’s responsibility to administer the slot 

system with consistency and integrity. In this case, FAA explicitly excluded route 

selection from its public interest criteria for allocating the slot exemption in question. 

Other proceedings, such as EAS and AIR-21 slot exemption cases, have been created 

for that purpose. As shown in our Joint Answer, and left unaddressed by Republic, the 

proposed transfer is inconsistent with the original purpose of the exemption, namely to 

enhance competition by new entrants and limited incumbents at DCA. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
3

In sum, Republic’s de facto transfer of Exemption No. 7370 to Delta is 

inconsistent with the FAA’s original finding of public interest, prohibited by the explicit 

language of the exemption itself, and disrespectful of the agency’s authority. For all of 

these reasons, we urge the FAA to reject Republic’s Joint Petition. 

Respectfully submitted,

__________________ __________________

Robert W. Kneisley Jonathan B. Hill

Leslie C. Abbott J. Parker Erkmann

Southwest Airlines Co. Counsel for JetBlue 

Airways Corporation

January 30, 2014