JetBlue and Spirit Beg to Trade LaGuardia Landing Slots
Published Date: 8/31/2026
Notice
Summary
On July 23, 2026, JetBlue Airways Corporation (JetBlue) and Spirit Airlines, LLC (Spirit) (together, the carriers) petitioned the Department of Transportation (the Department) and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for an exemption from the prohibition on selling or purchasing Operating Authorizations (slots) at New York LaGuardia Airport (LGA). The carriers requested the exemption to allow them to consummate a transaction in which Spirit would sell 22 slots to JetBlue.
Analyzed Economic Effects
3 provisions identified: 3 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
Sale of 22 LaGuardia Slots May Boost Competition
The FAA tentatively agreed to allow Spirit to sell 22 operating slots at New York LaGuardia Airport (LGA) to JetBlue. FAA and the carriers say the transfer would raise JetBlue's share of assigned slots at LGA to about 4.6 percent (still below the 5 percent benchmark) and could increase competition at LGA, which the agencies say may lower fares and expand service.
Temporary Waiver of Slot Usage Through April 2027
FAA tentatively granted a waiver of the Order's use-or-lose slot usage requirement through April 2027 for the transferred slots so JetBlue can integrate them and ramp up service. That waiver is intended to give JetBlue time to assign aircraft and crews, publish schedules, and begin operations at LGA.
Limits on JetBlue’s Future Slot Sales or Leases
As a condition of tentative approval, JetBlue is barred from trading or leasing the 22 acquired LGA slots until after April 2028 and is precluded from ever outright selling them in the future. FAA says this restriction is meant to preserve the price and service benefits for the traveling public from JetBlue operating those slots.
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