Spirit Wins Ex-Southwest Slots At Newark Airport – With A Condition

NEWARK, NJ — Spirit Airlines will inherit more than a dozen slots at Newark Liberty International Airport that previously belonged to Southwest Airlines, hopefully making it cheaper and easier to fly out of the busy airport, officials say.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) announced that it is reassigning 16 peak-hour runway timings at the airport that were previously operated by Southwest to Spirit.

“Today’s action secures low-cost service options for Newark customers and improves competition in the Newark market, which was affected when Southwest Airlines discontinued service there,” federal officials said.

“Today’s decision provides certainty to carriers that have been operating at Newark using temporary, ad hoc timings made available while other carriers reduced service during the COVID-19 pandemic,” the USDOT said.

However, there’s a catch, officials added – and it has to do with the reputation that the airport has acquired over the years for chronic delays:

“Given the department’s concern over the recent airline cancellations, delays, challenges with customer service and other operational disruptions that have hurt travelers, the department is requiring Spirit, as a condition of accepting the timings, to report additional data on disruptions facing their airline customers and its ability to provide them with accommodations. These reporting requirements will enable the department to monitor Spirit’s ability to deliver on its customer commitment and permit the department to better quantify the financial impact of operational disruptions on travelers.”

“As Newark is an IATA Level 2 ‘schedule facilitated’ airport, the department expects all operators there to continue to work cooperatively with the Federal Aviation Administration to ensure scheduled operations do not exceed the airport’s targeted scheduling limits,” officials said.

The USDOT added:

“The 16 timings reassigned today were originally operated by Southwest Airlines in 2010 when it acquired them as part of a Department of Justice competition remedy to the United-Continental merger. The department received applications from Spirit and JetBlue Airways for all 16 timings, and from Alaska Airlines for four of the timings. After reviewing the applications against the decisional criteria announced by the department, the department found that Spirit will best be able to provide competition with all 16 timings, consistent with the Department of Justice’s original competition remedy, and is most likely to provide the lowest fares to the most consumers.”

United Airlines, which controls the majority of the slots at Newark Airport, was required to give 36 slots to a competitor when it merged with Continental Airlines. Those were picked up by Southwest, which operated in Newark for nearly a decade before leaving.

• See related article: Spirit Notches Win In Fight For Slots At Newark Airport
• See related article: United Is Cutting Flights From Newark Airport, Reports Say

Southwest ceased operations at Newark Airport in 2019, citing financial results there that were “below expectations.” Read More: Southwest Ending Flights From Newark, Will Stay At LaGuardia

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