Slots at coordinated airports are a valuable economic resource. Despite the general fall in air traffic, the cancellation of air services should, however, not prevent the use of airport slots by other air carriers which may wish to use them on a temporary basis without such slots accruing grandfather rights. When you are working in a storage environment, it is often desirable to add, remove or re-size storage devices. Once storage is allocated we need to scan and verify allocated storage SAN disk. In 1993, common rules for the allocation of slots at EU airports were introduced in order to ensure that airlines have access to the busiest EU airports on the basis of principles of neutrality, transparency and non-discrimination (Based on the principles governing the system of slot allocation (IATA Worldwide Scheduling Guidelines)).
© Provided by The Points GuySouthwest Airlines is well on its way to dominating another Southern California airport once JetBlue Airways says goodbye to its long-time base in Long Beach.
The City of Long Beach has awarded the Dallas-based carrier all of JetBlue's 17 slots at the airport, according to a Sept. 2 statement. The allocation will give Southwest 34 slots at Long Beach (LGB), which is limited to just 53 daily commercial flights.
The added flights come as Southwest continues to fly far less than it did last year due to the coronavirus pandemic. Executives have warned that, barring a sudden massive return to the skies by travelers, the carrier could be at least a quarter smaller at the end of December compared to 2019 with a slow, choppy recovery ahead.
Air travel remains down around 70% compared to last year, according to data from trade group Airlines for America (A4A). The organization does not expect U.S. airlines to recovery to 2019 flyer numbers until at least 2024.
The COVID-19 downturn prompted JetBlue's decision to pull up stake in Long Beach and move its West Coast base to nearby Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). The New York-based carrier will end its 17 daily Long Beach flights on Oct. 6, and add nonstop service to seven western cities from LAX the next day.
JetBlue head of revenue and planning Scott Laurence has described the move to one of its 'most successful' markets as an example of seizing opportunities created by the pandemic. In the case of LAX, this means picking up a vacant gate at the notoriously gate-tight airport.
Related:JetBlue ends flights to Long Beach in West Coast realignment
Update on the allocation of flight slots: @SouthwestAir has requested all available slots at Long Beach Airport. With the new slots, Southwest will increase from 17 to 34 flight slots. ✈️👏🌴Read more➡️ https://t.co/Qr4ALaZDclpic.twitter.com/Ff7ZpTLJo6
— Long Beach Airport (@LGBAirport) September 3, 2020
Southwest's slot haul in Long Beach will catapult it to the number one position at the airport. It already holds the top spot for passengers at four other Southern California airports: Burbank (BUR), Ontario (ONT), Orange County (SNA) and San Diego (SAN).
Video: American, Delta, Alaska Follow United's Lead and Drop Change Fees (Travel + Leisure)
The airline serves Denver (DEN), Las Vegas (LAS), Oakland (OAK), Phoenix (PHX) and Sacramento (SMF) from Long Beach currently, according to Cirium schedules. Austin (AUS) and San Jose, California (SJC) flights are due to begin in November.
Southwest could boost flight frequencies to these cities with the added slots. However, the Long Beach airport suggests that the airline may 'increase its current offering of nonstop destinations.'
Related:Southwest Airlines says travel picked up in August, but still expects a tough fall
'Southwest has established decades of consistency as the hometown carrier of California and soon will proudly offer more for Long Beach,' Andrew Watterson, chief commercial officer of Southwest, said in a statement. He did not provide any additional details on the carrier's plans at the airport.
Despite being smaller this winter than last, Southwest continues to add a smattering of new routes across its map. It will connect Charlotte (CLT) and Denver in December, and Norfolk (ORF) and San Diego in January. Also in December, Southwest will open its first-ever seasonal destination Steamboat Springs, Colorado (HDN) with flights to Dallas Love Field (DAL) and Denver.
American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and Hawaiian Airlines will also serve Long Beach following JetBlue's exit. Delta and Hawaiian were offered some of JetBlue's former slots but they declined saying the 'timing was not ideal,' according to the city.
American flies to Phoenix, Delta to Salt Lake City (SLC) and Hawaiian to Honolulu (HNL) from Long Beach, Cirium shows.
Related:Southwest unveils Steamboat Springs routes, adds new destination during pandemic
Featured image by FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images.
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Southwest Airlines fueled its early growth through service to smaller airports in point-to-point markets that larger airlines chose to ignore. Today the carrier is on par with the 'big three' in terms of market share and the small airport play is no longer sufficient. And gaining access to slot-restricted airports remains a challenge. The company bought AirTran to gain slots in Atlanta, New York's LaGuardia and Washington, DC's National airports. And now it turns out it is losing some of the DCA slots, plus others on the west coast.
The DCA slots date back to a 2009 deal between AirTran and Continental Airlines to trade Newark access for landing rights at National airport. Part of that deal stipulated that if Newark removes its slot controls the DCA slots would revert to Continental. And with the FAA choosing to open Newark up late last year that's exactly what happened. Southwest returned the three slot pairs to United, cutting one frequency to each of Chicago-Midway, Milwaukee and Houston Hobby airports. United allocated the slots to Newark, Chicago-O'Hare and Houston Intercontinental service.
On the west coast the cuts come thanks to increased demand from other airlines. John Wayne airport in Orange County, California limits the number of aircraft operations to control noise in the surrounding community. Unlike neighboring Long Beach, however, SNA has historically operated with sufficient slots that Southwest had access to more than its default pool of flights because other carriers chose to not take their allocation. That changed in 2017 as Delta Air Lines, Alaska Airlines and United each increased their planned operations for 2017. By 'taking back' their provisioned slots those carriers removed 7 daily flights (and nearly a million seats over the course of the year) from the Southwest portfolio. Puerto Vallarta, Mexico City, Austin, Kansas City, Portland, St. Louis and Seattle will no longer be offered by Southwest at SNA. Of those, Puerto Vallarta is being back-filled by Alaska Airlines.
The company has been looking to reduce its total capacity growth for future quarters so the trimmed routes help on that front. But it is unclear that these would be the first choices for routes to kill, especially as some of the recent adds at SNA were proving to hold their own on both loads and yields.
Southwest launched the MCI-SNA route in NOV15. The most recent DOT data available shows JUN16-SEP16 load factors on the route exceeded 94%. pic.twitter.com/0xsc38RrOm
Sna Slot Allocation System
— Justin Meyer (@JustinMeyerKC) December 28, 2016
Oh, and the carrier may have already found another way to use some of its aircraft. Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky Airport (CVG) is expected to be announced as a new destination later this afternoon. Though that announcement comes at the expense of service to nearby Dayton airport.
Southwest will end service to Dayton in June, expected to replace with #CVG flights: https://t.co/WlPaqQZk9N
— Edward Russell (@e_russell) January 4, 2017
Sna Slot Allocation 2019
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