The U.S. Department of Transportation proposed approving
Delta Air Lines and US Airways' slot-swap plan, but only if the carriers divest
eight daily slot pairs at Reagan Washington National and 16 slot pairs at New
York LaGuardia airports. Those requirements are in line with the carriers' most recent proposal.
DOT also stipulated Delta and US Airways would have to
divest the slots through "a blind sale to airlines that currently have
little or no service at these airports" and "in bundles large enough
to ensure that a purchaser would have a sufficient number of slots to provide
meaningful new competition."
DOT's tentative approval also would require the carriers
"to wait 90 days before beginning their new operations on a phased-in
basis, in order to allow the new services to establish a foothold at the
airports."