Delta Air Lines plans to use one of its two beyond-perimeter slots at Ronald Reagan Washington National airport to launch new nonstop service to Los Angeles in April 2017.
The Atlanta-based SkyTeam Alliance carrier will operate the new Los Angeles flight with a slot pair that it currently uses for twice daily service to Salt Lake City from Washington National, a notice to the US Department of Transportation on 4 October shows.
Delta operates a Boeing 737-800 and Boeing 757-200 on its Washington National-Salt Lake City flights, FlightGlobal schedules show.
The airline holds two slot pairs for flights beyond Washington National’s 2,012km (1,250 mile) perimeter. It was awarded one for service to Salt Lake City in 2002 and the other for service to any destination with the caveat that it must use a slot pair from its existing portfolio in 2012.
Delta cannot change the destination for the Salt Lake City-specific slot pair without a new proceeding by the DOT, during which another carrier could win the pair.
The shift is likely part of the build up of the mainline carrier's hub in Los Angeles, where it recently signed a deal with the city to invest $1.9 billion and expand its footprint.
Delta will operate 22.6% more seats and 14.6% more flights from LAX this year compared to 2014, Diio data shows. It is scheduled to operate 7.89 million seats and 54,416 flights from the airport this year.
The airline will compete with Alaska Airlines and American Airlines on the Washington National-Los Angeles route, FlightGlobal schedules show. Southwest Airlines, United Airlines and Virgin America also fly to Los Angeles from nearby Baltimore/Washington and Washington Dulles airport.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
