Delta, US Airways trading airport slots for takeoffs, landings

A deal between Delta and US Airways to trade takeoff and landing slots at LaGuardia and Reagan National airports will have a ripple effect locally: fewer and possibly more expensive to those locations for those who fly out of Port Columbus, experts say.Port Columbus officials said Delta will eliminate its three daily, nonstop flights from Columbus to Reagan National in Washington, D.C., on March 25.This will leave US Airways as the only airline with direct flights from Port Columbus to Reagan. The carrier has no plans to add to its total of six daily flights to Reagan National, said David Whitaker, vice president of business development for Port Columbus.

Whitaker also said that US Airways will eliminate its five daily, nonstop flights to LaGuardia in New York on July 11.Neither Delta Air Lines nor American Airlines has plans to add flights to pick up the slack. Both offer five flights from Port Columbus each day, so the total of daily nonstop flights to LaGuardia will fall from 15 to 10.The reason for the slot swap is economic, as the airlines focus on airports they can serve most lucratively by creating high-traffic hubs.The swap has (US Airways) more focused on Reagan and less on LaGuardia, and they’re dropping LaGuardia service to a number of places, Whitaker said, adding that Delta has a similar strategy at National.If other carriers feel there’s room for planes with more seats or additional frequency to these markets, they are very nimble and will capitalize on market voids.

LaGuardia is the second most popular destination for Port Columbus fliers, at 374 passengers per day, U.S. Department of Transportation figures show. Orlando, Fla., is No. 1 with 455 passengers a day. Reagan National is 16th on the popularity list, with 155 per day.Any time you have one primary carrier that monopolizes a market, or you see a reduction in service, you see an increase in price, if not right away, then eventually, said Tammy Krings, CEO TS24, a New Albany travel agency.Currently, the average one-way ticket price from Port Columbus is $141 to Reagan National and $152 to LaGuardia, Transportation Department said.US Airways spokeswoman Michelle Mohr declined to discuss ticket prices but said the airline will closely monitor Columbus traffic to determine whether more flights to Reagan are needed.We are constantly looking at supply and demand trends from every location, but we don’t have any announcement to make right now, she said.

The takeoff and landing exchange was announced in May. Delta acquired 132 slots at LaGuardia from US Airways that will help it create a hub.In exchange, US Airways received 42 slots at Reagan National, plus the rights to additional daily service to Sao Paulo, and paid Delta $66.5 million.I see it as a bump in the road, and you have to understand the overall strategies of each carrier and how, if this makes them stronger, that’s good in the long run, Whitaker said. However, this does reduce the number of flights to the D.C. and New York areas, and even though we’r e still pretty well served in those areas, we like more choices and options.United will continue its four daily flights to Dulles, near Washington, and Southwest will go from four to five flights a day to Baltimore, beginning March 25.To me, one of the concerns about not having as many Reagan flights is not having the connectivity to international flights, Krings said.In the New York area, American will continue with two daily flights to John F. Kennedy International Airport, Delta will add one flight for a total of two to Kennedy and Continental will go from four to six a day to Newark (N.J.) Liberty International.These increases, Whitaker said, are seasonal adjustments and are not connected to the slot swaps.