Federal Aviation Administration February 18, 2010 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The FAA is issuing this notice to advise the public of a meeting of RTCA Government/Industry Air Traffic Management Advisory Committee (ATMAC) revised agendarescheduled meeting.

Delta Air Lines and US Airways submitted a joint waiver request from the prohibition on purchasing operating authorizations (``slots'' or ``slot interests'') at LaGuardia Airport (LGA). The carriers requested the waiver to allow them to consummate a transaction in which Delta would transfer 42 pairs of slot interests to US Airways at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), international route authorities to S[atilde]o Paulo and Tokyo; and terminal space at the Marine Air Terminal at LGA. US Airways would transfer 125 pairs of slot interests to Delta at LGA, and would lease an additional 15 pairs of LGA slot interests with a purchase option, together with terminal space in LGA's Terminal C. We have evaluated the proposed transaction and tentatively determined that, while the proposed transaction has a number of benefits, a grant of the waiver in its entirety would result in a substantial increase in market concentration that would harm consumers. Accordingly, while we have tentatively decided to grant Delta Air Lines' and US Airways' joint waiver request in part, we have tentatively determined that the public interest would best be served by creating new and additional competition at the airports to counterbalance the potential harm to consumers. To achieve that goal, our proposed waiver would require the divestiture of 14 pairs of slot interests at DCA and 20 pairs of slot interests at LGA to new entrant and limited incumbent carriers.