More Low-Fare Options at Choked Newark on U.S. Action

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. discount carriers won the right to add 16 coveted flight slots at congested Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, the government announced Friday.

The U.S. Department of Transportation said instead of awarding the slots to one low-cost carrier, as it had proposed in September, it will heed requests from the industry and split them up.

“This decision to open up access at Newark means lower fares and more choices for the traveling public,” DOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement.

The decision is a step toward an eventual reshuffling of a New York-area airport dominated by a major airline, giving passengers more options for discounted fares. Low-cost carriers often have difficulty getting access to capacity-constrained hubs such as Newark.

United Airlines Holdings Inc. carries the majority of passengers at Newark now, dwarfing competitors. Southwest Airlines Co. originally gained the slots during the merger of United and Continental Airlines, but gave them up when it stopped flying from Newark in 2019.

The Federal Aviation Administration initially said it was not planning to award the slots to another low-cost carrier, prompting Spirit Airlines Inc. to ask the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit for a review. The new arrangement was partly in response to a court decision in the case, the DOT said.

“Given that Newark is historically the most delay prone airport in the United States, United continues to believe that reducing airspace delays for the benefit of our customers and the regional economy is an urgent priority,” United Airlines said in an emailed statement. The carrier currently operates around 350 departures per day from Newark.

Representatives for Spirit didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on the DOT action.

In filings to the government in recent months, several airlines -- including JetBlue Airways Corp. and Frontier Group Holdings Inc. -- urged that the 16 slots be split in half so that two low-cost or ultra-low-cost carriers could gain access to Newark. Multiple carriers will be considered if no single one meets the selection criteria, the DOT said.

The slots -- which equate to either a landing or a takeoff -- are during “peak afternoon and evening runway times,” the DOT said.

Newark has been one of the most delayed airports in the nation as a result of high demand, limited runways and the packed airways near New York City. As a result, it is one of only a handful of airports in the U.S. where the government has ordered a cap on flights.