Delta Air Lines and US Airways Wednesday announced a slot transfer whereby Delta would obtain 125 pairs of US Airways slots at New York LaGuardia and US Airways would acquire 42 pairs of Delta slots at Washington National. Delta plans to operate a "domestic hub" at LaGuardia. US Airways plans to expand service at Washington National and also acquired Delta's rights to serve Sao Paulo and Tokyo.
Described by US Airways as "two simultaneous asset sales," the transactions are subject to government approval.
US Airways will hand over LaGuardia slots currently used for US Airways Express service and discontinue 26 routes. Delta said it would "more than double the number of nonstop destinations it serves from LaGuardia" by operating routes previously served by US Airways Express and adding flights "to more than a dozen cities not currently served by US Airways."
According to Delta CEO Richard Anderson, the greater emphasis "in the world's most competitive and largest air service market is a key part of our long-term strategy."
Delta said LaGuardia would handle two million additional annual passengers without any increase in aircraft movements as the airline replaces US Airways Express turboprop service with larger jets.
The two carriers also are trading facilities at LaGuardia. Delta will take US Airways' terminal C and embark on a $40 million project to connect it with Delta's main terminal. The expanded facility would serve all Delta flight operations and would include "a new dedicated check-in area for Medallion, First Class, BusinessElite and Shuttle customers." Delta expects to complete the transition next year.
US Airways in early 2010 would move its shuttle operation to the Marine Air Terminal, while services to Charlotte, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Wilmington would be handled in terminal D.
US Airways said it would "maintain a significant presence at LaGuardia Airport," with no reductions in its Northeast shuttle service or any other mainline routes. As the third-largest LaGuardia operator, US Airways would operate "up to 72 peak-day flights."
Changes At Washington National
At Washington National, US Airways will get Delta's slots and expand or initiate daily service to 15 destinations, including Cincinnati, Montreal and Ottawa, Canada. Others destinations that US Airways will serve--currently with no nonstop service from Washington National--include Birmingham, Ala.; Islip, N.Y.; Ithaca, N.Y.; Little Rock, Ark.; Myrtle Beach, S.C.; Pensacola, Fla.; Savannah, Ga.; and Tallahassee, Fla.
"We also plan to maintain existing service today to all [Washington National] destinations that Delta may discontinue as a result of this transaction," said US Airways senior vice president or marketing and planning Andrew Nocella. "We also plan to increase the number of seats we fly at [Washington National] by using larger dual-class jets. This will increase capacity in a dense market, where demand continues to be brisk, without the negative effects of additional congestion."
All told, US Airways plans to operate 229 peak-day departures at Washington National, with passenger enplanements jumping as much as 35 percent from current levels.
Meanwhile, Delta plans to maintain "numerous daily frequencies to its seven hubs" from Washington National, as well as shuttle operations and flights to "select small communities."
US Airways also acquired from Delta rights to serve Sao Paulo and Tokyo. It plans to begin Sao Paulo flights in 2010 from its Charlotte hub. US Airways previously announced plans to launch Charlotte-Rio de Janeiro in December. Tokyo flights, tentatively planned from US Airways' Phoenix hub, would not start "until 2012 or later."