(Bloomberg) -- American Airlines Group Inc. and Delta Air Lines Inc. were among the major carriers to tentatively secure a new, coveted long-distance flight at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, leaving discounters including Spirit Airlines Inc. on the sidelines.
Proposed routes from Southwest Airlines Co., Alaska Air Group Inc. and United Airlines Holdings Inc. were also selected for new round trips at the competitive airport, the US Transportation Department said Wednesday.
Low-cost carriers Spirit, JetBlue Airways Corp. and Frontier Group Holdings Inc. applied but didn’t win one of the five round trips added under legislation enacted earlier this year.
Airlines and lawmakers have been arguing for months over the long-distance flights out of Reagan National, the go-to airport for US policymakers and political power brokers. They are prized because the airport’s limited capacity makes adding new round trips a rare occurrence, as well as its close proximity to federal government offices in Washington.
The Transportation Department said lawmakers established “strict criteria” to determine which carriers should be considered and selected for the new flights. Comments on the tentative decision are due by Oct. 30.
If finalized, American will add a direct route to San Antonio and Delta will offer nonstop service to Seattle. Alaska will fly to San Diego and United will ferry passengers to its hub in San Francisco. Southwest’s new flight will go to Las Vegas with passengers able to stay on the same plane to continue on to Sacramento, California.
Delta, Southwest, American, United and Alaska applauded the department’s decision, with several citing benefits the new routes will unlock for cities seeking more direct access to the nation’s capital.
Spirit and Frontier separately said they were disappointed by the government’s decision, with Frontier saying it plans to object. JetBlue said DOT’s move, if made final, “ignores the real competitive disadvantages” faced by small carriers.
Congress set several requirements for airlines to qualify for the new routes, including that a carrier could win a maximum of one new round trip. Lawmakers also required the department to award the flights to carriers that already operate from Reagan airport.
(Updates with additional airline comment from the seventh paragraph.)
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