Order 2000-1-3 - Reallocation of O'Hare slots

Order 2000-1-3

Trans States Airlines, Inc., Atlantic Coast Airlines, Air Wisconsin Airlines Corp., Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport Authority and American Eagle Airlines, Inc.

Order 00-1-3
OST-97-2368
OST-99-6686

Issued January 4, 2000
Served January 7, 2000

Order

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Chattanooga- O'Hare

We will reallocate five of the 16 O'Hare slot exemptions previously granted to.Trans States to American Eagle for service at Chattanooga, six to Air Wisconsin for service at Tri-Cities, and five to ACA for service at Roanoke. By reallocating the slot exemptions in this fashion, we are enabling the replacement carriers to maintain the same frequencies and comparable departure and arrival times that are currently operated by Trans States with little or no hiatus in service.

We affirm the findings we made in Order 98-4-21 that important transportation benefits would be realized by the grant of slot exemptions for direct service between O'Hare and the three designated communities. Trans States' planned cessation of service in the subject markets does not reflect a lack of traffic response. Rather, it is prompted by the decision reached mutually between Trans States and United to discontinue their codesharing relationship, which will necessitate a redeployment of Trans States' aircraft fleet. The proposed replacement operations by ACA at Roanoke, Air Wisconsin at TriCities, and American Eagle at Chattanooga are enthusiastically endorsed by all of the civic parties, and we are satisfied that those carriers' proposals are operationally and financially viable. In addition, we note that no answers were filed in opposition to the proposed reallocation of the exemptions.

By: Bradley Mims