Southwest Airlines (WN, Dallas Love Field) has been awarded two slot exemptions by the US Department of Transportation allowing it to operate a new daily Houston Hobby - Washington National flight. The DoT said the service will be the first non-stop service from Houston’s William P. Hobby Airport to Reagan National and will help foster airline competition in the Reagan National-Houston market where currently only United Airlines (UA, Chicago O'Hare) provides flights, albeit to Houston Intc'l. The slot exemptions became available when Spirit Airlines (NK, Fort Lauderdale Int'l) moved its Washington area service from Reagan National to Baltimore Thurgood Marshall and returned the two slot exemptions that it had been using to serve Fort Lauderdale Int'l. Also applying for the exemptions at Reagan National were US Airways (US, Phoenix Sky Harbor), which proposed service to Oklahoma City Will Rogers World, and jetBlue Airways (B6, New York JFK), which proposed service to Jacksonville Int'l, FL.

Frontier Airlines (F9, Denver Int'l) could soon have a new owner as reports state that parent company, Republic Airlines (YX, Chicago O'Hare), is in talks with Phoenix-based Indigo Partners LLC and Anchorage Capital Group of New York City regarding a possible buy out. Republic bought Frontier in 2009 for US$109 million, and assumed the struggling carrier's $1 billion in debt and aircraft lease obligations, as an experiment in running "a brand-name carrier in the hopes it could offset shrinking margins in its own core business." However, as result of the Frontier acquisition, Republic is now saddled with US$2.1billion in long term debt, hence its drive to offload the airline. Indigo formerly held a controlling stake in Spirit Airlines (NK, Fort Lauderdale Int'l) but now owns a minority stake in Volaris (Y4, Toluca) as well as a 49% shaereholding in Wizz Air (W6, Budapest). Anchorage, too, has held a stake in Spirit but specializes in trading troubled companies' debt and occasionally takes ownership of them during financial restructuring or bankruptcies. Negotiations with the prospective buyers are still in the early stages.

Spirit Airlines (NK, Fort Lauderdale Int'l) has announced two separate lease transactions with aircraft lessor ILFC for three additional used A319-100s and five A320neos. According to both parties, this is the first lease transaction for A320neo aircraft thas has officially been made public.

Southwest Airlines (WN, Dallas Love Field) has acquired two slot pairs at Washington National from Spirit Airlines (NK, Fort Lauderdale Int'l) earlier this month allowing it to launch a new twice daily service between Washington Reagan and St. Louis Lambert Int'l from September 6. Spirit will at the same time move its current twice daily service from Fort Lauderdale Int'l to Reagan over to Baltimore Thurgood Marshall.

Spirit Airlines (NK, Fort Lauderdale Int'l) has wet-leased a B737-400 for the summer season as previously reported by ch-aviation. The aircraft wet-leased has now been identified as Xtra Airways (XP, Elko) B737-400 N772AS (MSN 25105). It currently operates on two of Spirit's four daily services between Fort Lauderdale Int'l and New York La Guardia.