Spirit proposes alternate plan for long-distance flights at $ Washington’s National Airport
Spirit Airlines has a plan that could get it access to Washington’s Reagan National Airport along with other budget carriers that have little or no presence at the sought-after D.C. gateway. In a letter sent June 9 to Senators Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas), the Florida-based discounter proposed a solution for the slot-constrained airport that would allow new flights beyond its 1,250-mile perimeter, open the facility to new discount competition, and keep in place the current cap on total flights. Airlines with existing slots at National could convert an unlimited number to fly beyond the perimeter but they would have to give up an equal number of slots to budget airlines or new entrants for inside the perimeter flights. Put another way, for every new round-trip flight longer than 1,250 miles, say to San Diego, on American Airlines or United Airlines, a discounter like Spirit or Frontier Airlines would also be able to add a new round-trip flight inside the perimeter, for example to Florida. “A reassessment of the slot and perimeter rules at DCA is long overdue and should not become an occasion to further entrench high fare legacy airlines,” Spirit CEO Ted Christie said in the letter. “Rather the public’s demand for more competition and lower fares should guide any new legislation.” Spirit’s letter to the senators has not previously been reported and the airline’s proposal was confirmed to Skift by a person familiar with the plan. Christie wrote the senators following the introduction in the House of Representatives of a Delta Air Lines-backed measure that would create 28 slot pairs at National for new longer-distance flights. One slot pair is needed for a round-trip flight. While the Senate has yet to mark up its own version of the legislation, The Washington Post has reported that it plans to include four new beyond-perimeter slot pairs in its upcoming Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill. Both proposals are seen as starting points in a debate over longer-distance flights at National airport that will likely continue until a final FAA reauthorization bill is voted on.<br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2023-06-20/unaligned/spirit-proposes-alternate-plan-for-long-distance-flights-at-washington2019s-national-airport
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Spirit proposes alternate plan for long-distance flights at $ Washington’s National Airport
Spirit Airlines has a plan that could get it access to Washington’s Reagan National Airport along with other budget carriers that have little or no presence at the sought-after D.C. gateway. In a letter sent June 9 to Senators Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas), the Florida-based discounter proposed a solution for the slot-constrained airport that would allow new flights beyond its 1,250-mile perimeter, open the facility to new discount competition, and keep in place the current cap on total flights. Airlines with existing slots at National could convert an unlimited number to fly beyond the perimeter but they would have to give up an equal number of slots to budget airlines or new entrants for inside the perimeter flights. Put another way, for every new round-trip flight longer than 1,250 miles, say to San Diego, on American Airlines or United Airlines, a discounter like Spirit or Frontier Airlines would also be able to add a new round-trip flight inside the perimeter, for example to Florida. “A reassessment of the slot and perimeter rules at DCA is long overdue and should not become an occasion to further entrench high fare legacy airlines,” Spirit CEO Ted Christie said in the letter. “Rather the public’s demand for more competition and lower fares should guide any new legislation.” Spirit’s letter to the senators has not previously been reported and the airline’s proposal was confirmed to Skift by a person familiar with the plan. Christie wrote the senators following the introduction in the House of Representatives of a Delta Air Lines-backed measure that would create 28 slot pairs at National for new longer-distance flights. One slot pair is needed for a round-trip flight. While the Senate has yet to mark up its own version of the legislation, The Washington Post has reported that it plans to include four new beyond-perimeter slot pairs in its upcoming Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill. Both proposals are seen as starting points in a debate over longer-distance flights at National airport that will likely continue until a final FAA reauthorization bill is voted on.<br/>
