Spirit Airlines, Inc.

Order 2006-3-9
OST-2003-15972 - Exemption - Slot Slide at Reagan Washington National

Issued and Served March 9, 2006

Order Granting an Amendment to DCA Lottery Slot Exemptions

By this order, the Department is granting the request of Spirit Airlines, Inc. to amend the use of two of its lottery slot exemptions at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. To accommodate seasonal fluctuations in demand, Spirit may vary its use of a pair of its lottery slot exemptions for the purpose of providing nonstop service between either Detroit Metropolitan Airport or Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport and DCA. Spirit must also continue to use its remaining lottery slot exemptions to provide year-round, nonstop service between FLL and DCA.

As we noted previously in Order 2003-9-30, to qualify for a “slide” in slot operating times, the Department must find exceptional circumstances and that grant of the authority would not (1) result in an increase in the total number of slots per day at Reagan National; (2) result in an increase in the total number of slots at Reagan National between the hours of 0700 through 2159; (3) increase the number of operations at Reagan National in any one-hour period by more than two operations; (4) result in the withdrawal or reduction of slots operated by an air carrier; and (5) result in a net increase in noise impact on surrounding communities resulting from changes in timing of the exempted operations

Spirit’s amendment request satisfies the exceptional circumstances criteria contemplated by the Department in approving previous slot exemption requests. Spirit’s current service pattern at DCA, consisting of a total of three arrivals and three departures a day, is provided exclusively through the use of its slot exemptions and lottery slots. Spirit is among the smallest slotholders at DCA and is highly constrained in its ability to (internally) adjust the use of its slots in response to fluctuations in market demand.

By: Michael Reynolds