still comply with the statute, and must deny Airtran's application because it fails to meet either the "public interest" or "exceptional circumstances" requirements of Section 41714. In support of its answer, TWA states as follows:

1. If the Department grants any of the current applications for LaGuardia slots, it will undoubtedly be beseiged by additional filings by other new entrant carriers. The result will be increased congestion at LaGuardia and massive delay costs imposed upon other airlines and their passengers. Indeed, the present proposals, standing alone, are enough to create substantial aircraft delays at the airport. The three current filings ask for a total of 30 LaGuardia slots:

Since the slot allocation for scheduled service by air carriers and commuters is only 62 slots per hour (14 C.F.R., § 93.123), this amounts to almost a half hour of runway time. The delays that this will impose on other services far outweigh the limited public benefits that would be achieved by any of these applications.

2. Airtran has failed to demonstrate that its proposal meets either of the requirements of the statute. Other than in its preamble discussion of the statute, it has failed to even mention any exceptional circumstances that might apply to its application. While its discussion of the public interest is devoted almost entirely to the population sizes of the destination cities, it has failed to show that there is any substantial traffic that would benefit from the service. In fact, all the proposed city-pairs have limited traffic:

Thus, there is no public interest factor that would justify grant of its exemption application.

3. Since Airtran has not argued that any exceptional circumstances apply to its application, there is nothing further to discuss. However, even if the Department were to consider the competitive circumstances at each of these cities as an exceptional circumstance, there is no basis for grant of the application. Each city receives on-line connecting service to LaGuardia from major carriers over multiple hubs:

The creation of hub and spoke systems has given each of these cities a level of competition that would have been unthinkable prior to deregulation. Of course, nonstop service would be an improvement, but the circumstances of Airtran's cities are no different from those of dozens of other cities with equivalent traffic volumes.

Wherefore, TWA respectfully requests that Airtran's application for an exemption from the LaGuardia slot rule be denied.

Respectfully submitted,

Richard J. Fahy, Jr.

Attorney for

Trans World Airlines, Inc.

June 9, 1997