A fierce competition is currently underway among eight major airlines for the opportunity to secure five additional daily roundtrip slot pairs at Washington Reagan National Airport. These coveted slots are part of the new five-year FAA reauthorization signed into law by President Biden in May. American, United, Delta, Alaska, Southwest, JetBlue, Spirit, and Frontier have all submitted applications seeking approval for these valuable slots.
American Airlines, as the dominant carrier at Reagan National, is looking to offer a daily service to San Antonio, a route where it would face no competition. United Airlines, on the other hand, is seeking approval for a second daily service to San Francisco, potentially in competition with Alaska Airlines. Delta wants to establish a route between Reagan National and its hub in Seattle, directly challenging existing Alaska Airlines services. Alaska Airlines is eyeing Reagan National-San Diego flights as their proposed route, aiming to be the sole operator on that route. Southwest Airlines is looking to fly to Las Vegas and then on to Sacramento, California, competing with American Airlines on the Las Vegas leg. JetBlue, Frontier, and Spirit are all seeking approval to operate flights to San Juan from Reagan National.
According to the Department of Transportation’s guidelines, four slot pairs will be awarded to airlines that already have more than 20 daily roundtrip flight authorizations at Reagan National. American, United, Delta, Southwest, and JetBlue are in the running for these slots. The remaining slot pair will go to an airline with less than 20 daily roundtrip authorizations at the airport, making Alaska the only eligible applicant for this slot. Despite Frontier’s existing flights to Reagan National, the airline does not meet the criteria to apply for the additional slot.
The battle for these sought-after slots at Washington Reagan National Airport highlights the intense competition among major airlines to expand their services and capture a larger market share in the highly competitive aviation industry. The decision on which airlines will ultimately secure these valuable slots will have a significant impact on the travel options available to passengers and the competitive landscape at this key airport.