United Airlines will soon start flying 757-300s out of Washington’s National (Reagan) Airport on routes to its hubs in Denver and San Francisco, replacing smaller planes. It’s the only way the airline can increase capacity on those routes.
DCA is one of five airports subject to “slot rule” capacity controls, limiting the number of flights per day. The others are all also high-density close-in airports (JFK, Laguardia, Newark and O’Hare), where airlines compete hotly for capacity. United has been serving the routes with 150-seat A320s and 166-seat 737s; the change to 213-seat planes will yield a little over 30% increase in seats without adding flights.
The 757-300 will be the largest plane using the airport, which is directly across the Potomac from downtown Washington, although it has the ability to handle even larger planes; a 787 landed there on a promotional tour last year. But some gate arrangements may be needed; not all of DCA’s gates can handle 757s.
