Delta and US Airways to appeal landing slot decision

Delta Air Lines and US Airways announced plans to drop their proposed swap of take-off and landing slots at Washington and New York, instead filing an appeal against the US' Department of Transportation (AP/Bloomberg, 02-Jul-2010). The carriers claim the Government lacked the authority to deny the transaction. Delta and US Airways planned to swap slots at LaGuardia and Reagan National allowing Delta to expand at LaGuardia to compliment its JFK services, and US Airways to expand at Reagan National Airport to secure the right to launch additional international services. The FAA proposed to scale back the slot swap and divest a number of slots to other carriers following concerns of reduced competition at the airports.