Last August, Delta Air Lines and US Airways asked the Federal Aviation Administration to secure a 125 slot proposal for expansion in both New  York’s LaGuardia airport and Washington Regan National. This February, however, the FAA made it clear that the airlines should only have 105 slots. In an effort to compromise this week, Delta and US Airways have projected a negotiation.

In order to cooperate, the airlines have proposed a deal to give five slots each at LaGuardia to AirTran, Spirit, and WestJet. US Airways would then concede five slots at Reagan National to JetBlue. Slots are defined as time-specific landings and take-offs.

The concessions would have the airlines rounding out at 110 pairs – 15 less than they had hoped for, but five more than the Department of Transportation would like. Since both LaGuardia and Reagan National are subject to federal caps, trades are the most likely option for expansion opportunity.

For Delta, this deal would mean that it could compliment its slots at JFK with new slots at LaGuardia. US Airways would benefit by adding shuttle service to New York and Boston.