<B>National Slots Service</B>
By Barbara Cook
The U.S. Department of Transportation has awarded slots at Reagan Washington National Airport to eight carriers that now have little or no service at the capacity-controlled facility. The award of 24 slot exemptions--each good for one landing or takeoff--was mandated by AIR-21, legislation signed in April by President Clinton that also set in motion the phase-out of slot controls at Chicago O'Hare and New York JFK and LaGuardia. While capacity will be expanded at National, the airport will remain under the slot rule.
The eight carriers and their new authority are (for services with a 1,250-mile radius of the airport): four slots to American Trans Air for service to Chicago Midway; two to Midway Airlines for service to Raleigh/Durham, N.C.; two to Midwest Express Airlines for service to Des Moines; and four exemptions to Spirit Airlines, two to either Melbourne, Fla., Fort Myers, Fla., West Palm Beach, Fla., Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood, Fla., or Myrtle Beach, S.C., and two for service only to Myrtle Beach or Melbourne.
For services beyond the 1,250-mile so-called "perimeter" of National, DOT granted six exemptions to America West, four for flights to Phoenix and two to Las Vegas; two to TWA for service to Los Angeles; two to Frontier Airlines for flights to Denver; and two to National Airlines for service to Las Vegas.
Although a total of 20 carriers bid for service from National, DOT was limited by legislation. Officials said the carriers selected for exemptions represent the "best opportunity to enhance competition and provide new, low-fare service to Reagan National." The exempted carriers may begin services after DOT approves the times of their operations.
Unsuccessful applicants included American Airlines, which had bid for slots to Los Angeles; Delta, which sought Salt Lake City service; Northwest, which bid for Seattle; United, which also sought Los Angeles; Accessair, which bid for Des Moines; Central Illinois Regional Airport, which sought rights for a carrier to operate to Bloomington, Ill.; Legend, which proposed Dallas Love Field; Pro Air, which applied for Detroit, and Vanguard, which bid for a Kansas City route.