DALLAS (AP) - The CEO of American Airlines says his company is getting $381 million from selling takeoff and landing rights at New York's LaGuardia Airport and Reagan National Airport outside Washington.
Doug Parker said his airline was paid more than it expected to get for the rights - called slots - at the busy airports.
In comments filed Monday in federal district court in Washington, the Justice Department said the value of the slots proved that it drove a hard bargain last year when it settled its antitrust lawsuit against the merger of American and US Airways. The airlines agreed to give up some of their slots at LaGuardia and Reagan and two gates each at airports in Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, Miami and Dallas.
The Justice Department said that American's sale of the LaGuardia slots to Southwest Airlines Co. and Virgin America is complete, while the transfer of Reagan slots to Southwest, JetBlue Airways Corp. and Virgin America is expected to wrap up soon. Each airline had announced that it won bidding for the slots, but the sale prices were not disclosed.