JetBlue demands AA-US Air divests slots at DCA

JetBlue has demanded the merged American Airlines-US Airways should divest “a significant number of slots” at Reagan National Airport (DCA) as a precondition for antitrust approval.
The airline sent a letter to New York Sen. Charles Schumer which details that the merger would give US Airways control of 67% of the slots at DCA, up from its already anticompetitive 55%.
“JetBlue believes that the merger, absent meaningful action by the Department of Justice, will make an unbalanced competitive situation at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) even worse, especially for communities in central and western New York where air service levels have decreased, fares have increased and economic decline has resulted,” Robert Land, JetBlue’s senior vice president, government affairs, writes.
The letter was referred to during a hearing on the merger before the Senate Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy, and Consumer Rights held yesterday. Also speaking US Airways CEO Doug Parker said that he does not expect to divest any slots at DCA, but is open to listening to what the Department of Justice has to say on the topic.