ITRADE: Is there a link or something that shows that AirTran would actually use these slots, if awarded, for DCA-CMH? With USAir and Delta RJs already on the route, and the fact that AirTran does not currently fly to either CMH or DCA, I can't imagine they would enter this route. Furthermore, AWA must have dropped it because it wasn't making money... Why would AirTran want a money loser someone else dropped?
AirTran was recently awarded exemption slots to fly to Florida from DCA (I think Fort Myers and Palm Beach, but not sure). Maybe they are looking for these slots to add more Florida (i.e. their HQ in Orlando) or to their ATL hub. Both seem more plausible than DCA-CMH.