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 New York-based JetBlue said in a statement it was told its bid for
12 slot pairs at Reagan National was accepted, with a final
agreement subject to approval of the U.S. Justice Department.
It also said American had agreed to the permanent transfer to
JetBlue of eight other slot pairs at Reagan National that JetBlue
has been operating temporarily since 2010.
American's former parent, AMR Corp, and US Airways Group agreed to
give up 52 pairs of takeoff and landing rights, or 104 slots, at
Reagan National Airport as well as certain other assets under a
settlement of an antitrust lawsuit by the U.S. Justice Department
seeking to block their combination.
The merger, completed in December, formed the world's largest
airline.
JetBlue added that once its agreement for the slots is approved, it
expects to add 12 new roundtrip flights at Reagan National.
It said it plans to provide non-stop flights to cities it does not
currently serve. With the new slots, JetBlue plans to operate up to
30 roundtrips per day at Reagan National, compared with 18
currently.
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Southwest Airlines <LUV.N> also said it bid for Reagan National
slots and Virgin America <VA.UL> has also said it was interested in
airport assets that are available as a result of the American merger
settlement.
(Reporting by Karen Jacobs in Atlanta;
editing by Sophie Hares)
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