JetBlue Airways (B6, New York JFK) has implored the US Department of Transportation (DOT) to initiate a route allocation proceeding for the single Saturday Havana International frequency Delta Air Lines (DL, Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson) will relinquish from September 1 onwards.

Following Delta's announcement on May 25, three carriers have stepped forward seeking to take possession of the frequency - American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, and jetBlue.

Of the three, American intends to use the frequency to add a Saturday-only flight to the Cuban capital from Miami International using B737-800 equipment. Service would start no later than December 22. For its part, Southwest would use it to provide a second Saturday roundtrip flight between Tampa International and Havana. Currently Southwest provides one daily Tampa-Havana flight, plus two daily Fort Lauderdale International-Havana flights, all with B737 aircraft.

JetBlue proposes to use the frequency to add a Saturday service to its existing Fort Lauderdale International-Havana flights.

Given the competition therein, jetBlue has urged the DOT to institute a new frequency allocation proceeding in order to determine which of the proposals would best serve the public interest.