AirTran Airways Applauds Representative Reynolds for Supporting Requested Enforcement Actions to the Department of Transportation.Business Editors/Government & Travel Writers ORLANDO, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 1, 2001 AirTran Airways AirTran Airways is a low-cost airline that is a Delaware corporation with headquarters in Orlando, Florida, USA and is a subsidiary of AirTran Holdings. AirTran operates over 750 daily flights throughout the eastern USA and the Midwest, including over 270 daily departures from today applauded U.S. Representative Thomas M. Reynolds For other persons of the same name, see Thomas Reynolds (disambiguation). Thomas M. Reynolds (born September 3, 1950), commonly known as Tom Reynolds, is a politician from the U.S. (R-NY) for his request that the Department of Transportation (DOT) re-allocate 222 takeoff and landing slots Landing slots or Airport slots are rights allocated to an airline by an airport or government agency granting an airline the right to schedule a landing or departure at a specific time. at Washington Reagan National Airport to low-cost air carriers. These slots, now held by US Airways, will become property of the newly created DC Air if the merger agreements among United Airlines, American Airlines American Airlines Major U.S. airline. American was created through a merger of several smaller U.S. airlines and incorporated in 1934. It continued to buy the routes of other airlines, becoming an international carrier in the 1970s; its routes include South America, the and US Airways are approved as currently proposed. Reynolds' contact with DOT follows on enforcement complaints filed by AirTran Airways calling on DOT to institute a process to re-allocate slots at Washington National Airport to low-fare and new-entrant carriers. AirTran Airways' complaints highlighted DOT's January 2001 study, as well as the recent letter from members of the Senate Judiciary Committee The U.S. Senate established the Committee on the Judiciary on December 10, 1816, as one of the original 11 standing committees. It is also one of the most powerful committees in Congress; among its wide range of jurisdictions is investigation of federal judicial nominees and oversight of to DOT, affirming DOT's authority to act on the mergers and related competitive issues without regard to action taken by the Department of Justice on the mergers. DOT Secretary Norman Mineta recognized this in his most recent statement concerning DOT's planned analysis of the proposals' impact on hub competition. AirTran Airways' complaints identified the efforts by United, American, US Airways and TWA TWA Time-weighted average, see there to monopolize mo·nop·o·lize tr.v. mo·nop·o·lized, mo·nop·o·liz·ing, mo·nop·o·liz·es 1. To acquire or maintain a monopoly of. 2. To dominate by excluding others: monopolized the conversation. business markets in the Eastern United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. as the very type of activity that DOT was mandated to address. "AirTran Airways has a unique opportunity with these mergers to bring about the kind of price competition to points throughout the Northeast U.S. that haven't seen affordable business fares in many years," said Joseph Leonard, AirTran Airways' Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "But in order to successfully bring our low fares into these markets, it is vital that we are allowed access to slots at Washington National Airport in numbers sufficient to create a low-fare network." AirTran Airways also noted the continuing support of other Congressional leaders, in particular Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Representative Louise Slaughter (D-NY), for their progressive thinking at this crucial time for the airline industry. "We appreciate the support of Senator Schumer, Representative Slaughter, Representative Reynolds and others on Capitol Hill who recognize the importance of bringing true airline competition to the Northeastern United States," said Leonard. "Their concern on behalf of their constituents is commendable, especially considering that if no action is taken in these communities, their constituents are the ones who will end up paying for it - quite literally." AirTran Airways continues to pursue discussions with DOT, Department of Justice and several other interested members of Congress regarding its request to redistribute US Airways slots at Reagan National Airport to low-cost airlines. The airline distributed copies of its two outstanding DOT petitions to hundreds of legislators, local and state political and business executives and media representatives throughout the Northeast, asking them to make their concerns known about the need for affordable-fare competition. Systemwide, AirTran Airways operates 314 daily departures to 34 cities. Offering the convenience of easy, same-concourse connections in Atlanta, AirTran Airways operates 139 daily departures from Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport, the world's busiest airport World's busiest airport is a claim that is fiercely fought over by the owners of the world's largest airports. The definition of "busiest" is debated as well, with claims being staked on the basis of aircraft operations, cargo traffic or total passengers. . AirTran Airways provides everyday, affordable air travel throughout the eastern United States and, unlike other airlines, never requires a roundtrip purchase or Saturday night stay. AirTran Airways is the launch customer for the Boeing 717, today's newest, most innovative and most environmentally friendly commercial aircraft. AirTran Airways is a subsidiary of AirTran Holdings, Inc. (AMEX AMEX See: American Stock Exchange :AAI AAI American Association of Immunologists. ). For more information and reservations, visit AirTran Airways' Web site at www.airtran.com (America Online Keyword: AirTran), call your travel agent or call AirTran Airways at 800-AIRTRAN (800/247-8726) or 770/994-8258 (in Atlanta). |
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