United and Delta asked a federal judge to dismiss a US Department of Justice lawsuit seeking to stop United from expanding its large presence at Newark's Liberty Airport. The Justice Department in November challenged Delta's agreement to lease 24 Newark slots to United, in exchange for United's agreement to lease 30 slots to Delta at John F. Kennedy Airport. Antitrust officials said this could hurt competition among carriers in Newark, while boosting fares for the 35m passengers already using that often-congested airport each year. But in a filing on Tuesday in the federal court in Newark, United dismissed government concerns as speculative, and said the swap might aid competition if it followed through on its plan to add flights on new and popular routes. The government "can only guess what United, Delta, and any other airlines will do" at Newark, United said. In a separate filing, Delta said the Justice Department should not overrule the DoT and FAA, which it said have primary oversight of slot assignments and whose rules aimed at improving safety and efficiency would permit the swap. The Justice Department has until February 12 to respond. A trial is scheduled to begin on June 21, absent a settlement.<br/>
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LOT Polish Airlines has launched its first new long-haul route in four years with the introduction of 3X-weekly Warsaw-Tokyo Narita services using a Boeing 787-8. “By opening this new route, will also want to win back the trust from our passengers,” LOT acting CEO Marcin Celejewski said. “We are working very hard to develop this company further, but we also want to expand our Warsaw hub in the New Europe.” LOT plans to add 15 new destinations this year as well as increase frequencies on existing routes. Celejewski told ATW the Poland flag carrier plans to “grow 38% in terms of ASKs” this year as a European Union ban on growth is lifted following restructuring. Load factors are reportedly at 70% on LOT’s new Tokyo route, despite economic difficulties for Japanese tourists. The carrier is also evaluating new services to Bangkok, but nothing has been decided.<br/>