Delta, US Airways Slot Swap Approved by DOT, FAA

The U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have granted a joint waiver request from Delta Air Lines and US Airways to allow the two carriers to swap slots at New York LaGuardia Airport (LGA) and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA). Under the plan, now more than two years old, US Airways would transfer to Delta 132 slot pairs at LaGuardia in exchange for 42 slot pairs at Reagan National, as well as route authority to operate flights to Sao Paulo, Brazil, and a $66.5 million cash payment.

The waiver carries various conditions, including that the carriers dispose of 16 slots at DCA and 32 slots at LGA to “eligible new entrant and limited incumbent carriers.”

Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Justice continues its investigation into whether US Airways’ acquisition of slots at DCA might prove anticompetitive.