Alaska Airlines, JetBlue, Southwest and Virgin America scored rights to serve daily nonstop routes from Reagan Washington National beyond the 1,250-mile perimeter limit that currently restricts flight operations at the airport.
The U.S. Department of Transportation granted permission to Alaska for flights to Portland, Ore.; JetBlue for service to San Juan; Southwest to fly to Austin, Texas; and Virgin America for flights to San Francisco.
The recent Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization enabled the new service and also allowed four large carriers already serving Reagan National to exchange a total of eight slots for flights within the perimeter for an equal number of slots for nonstop flights beyond the perimeter.
As a result, American Airlines will trade one roundtrip to Dallas-Fort Worth for a flight to Los Angeles, Delta will trade one roundtrip to New York LaGuardia for a flight to Salt Lake City, United will trade one roundtrip to Chicago O'Hare for a flight to San Francisco, and US Airways will trade one roundtrip to Dallas-Fort Worth for a flight to San Diego.
Source: Business Travel News